Living on Tokyo Time

UPDATE (2 March 2016)Just received email from the film's director in response to my email of Feb. 29th where I had visited production company's web site asking about film and lamenting the fact it was not available on DVD. NEWS! The director told me that "out of the blue, MGM has released the movie on DVD" and it is now available on Amazon.com! After a decade or so of wanting a DVD of this film, my wish has been answered. Thanks MGM.

This is a sweet, simple, funny low budget movie that is nearly impossible to find and as far as I can tell only on VHS. I have my third VHS copy. Can't remember what happened to first one. Second one I bought cheap at a flea market and had no sound. I have seen a used copy or two for sale on eBay and Amazon.

I used this film in teaching Freshman Comp II at a community college in the early 90s for several reasons, but partly due to its low key humor that includes contrasting a real Japanese (a girl) with a Japanese- American wannabe rocker who eats cold cereal rather than sushi.

It's a quiet movie with no sex, cursing, drugs etc. Just some interesting characters and a cute leading actress. The lead female character narrates the film in a sweet voice.

The point of contact between two cultures can be a sometimes bewildering place, affording a unique glimpse into both worlds while not necessarily allowing a clear understanding of either. In Steven Okazaki's debut dramatic feature the culture clash is less a collision than it is a comic stalemate, presenting a benign communication breakdown between two young strangers thrown together in an awkward marriage of convenience. Ken is the thoroughly Westernized (some might say lobotomized) third-generation Asian American drop-out and aspiring punk rock guitarist who reluctantly agrees to go through the motions of marriage with Kyoko, a shy Japanese visitor looking to circumvent immigration laws after her travel visa expires. As is often the case with an independent, shoestring production the script is let down by inconsistent acting, but the lack of experience (on both sides of the camera) can sometimes work in Okazaki's favor. Beneath the unpolished, student film veneer is more genuine humor and compassion than in any of the largely impersonal blockbusters released by Hollywood the same summer, and at only a fraction of the cost.

I for one typically like films that involve Japanese people so for sure I had to check out this 1987 film called "Living on Tokyo Time" and it was a slow little moving drama that gave insight into how life is all about chance and learning each day. The film still does a good job to explore Asian-American culture and the clash it has when a young Japanese girl travels to live and start a new life in San Francisco. This woman simply wants a new life a break from the normal ways of her family and she seems well on that path when she marries a Japanese-American junk food want to be rock star in the making. Really this is just a marriage of convenience so that the girl can stay in the U.S. so that her visa will not expire. So the theme of immigration is present so the film might can even be classified as before it's time. Overall the film is a culture class as it shows you learn everyday with life and love and in the end you have to make a choice to do the right thing as sometimes a visit and a stay is just a journey of chance as I think that was what this film proved.

I caught this film on AZN on cable. It sounded like it would be a good film, a Japanese "Green Card". I can't say I've ever disliked an Asian film, quite the contrary. Some of the most incredible horror films of all time are Japanese and Korean, and I am a HUGE fan of John Woo's Hong Kong films. I an not adverse to a light hearted films, like Tampopo or Chung King Express (two of my favourites), so I thought I would like this. Well, I would rather slit my wrists and drink my own blood than watch this laborious, badly acted film ever again.

I think the director Steven Okazaki must have spiked the water with Quaalude, because no one in this film had a personality. And when any of the characters DID try to act, as opposed to mumbling a line or two, their performance came across as forced and incredibly fake. I honestly did not think that anyone had ever acted before...the ONLY person who sounded genuine was Brenda Aoki.. I find it amazing that this is promoted as a comedy, because I didn't laugh once. Even MORE surprising is that CBS morning news called this "a refreshing breath of comedy". It was neither refreshing, nor a breath of comedy. And the ending was very predictable, the previous reviewer must be an idiot to think such things.

AVOID this film unless you want to see a boring predictable plot line and wooden acting. I actually think that "Spike of Bensonhurst" is a better acted film than this...and I walked out half way through that film!

The main plot line of "Living on Tokyo Time" is Ken's marriage of convenience to a Japanese national seeking a green card. But between the lines it is a character study of a Japanese American in a life crisis. Intimate and understated, we see an authentic portrait of a man who doesn't know where he belongs.