Densha otoko

I suppose every society has something like this: a superficially manufactured product, targeted at clumsy boys (and sometimes girls) whose only intent is to assure them that their clumsiness is endearing. Don't grow up, it allows, you will find movie romance.

In this case, our dweeb stumbles upon a princess and each stumble and successive misstep brings him closer to her. He's honest and endearing you see. The narrative folding here (where the audience has an on screen equivalent) comes from his internet buddies.

Presumably, most of these only know our hero through the chat room and have no idea what he is like in person. This rather numerous bunch get every detail reported to them just as we the "real" viewers see. They comment and encourage, just as we are meant to, cheering him on, giving him the courage to chase his dream and be fulfilled as a man. Its a simple narrative fold. The story and the point of the story are both revoltingly trite.

There is an interesting detail though. Among his internet buddies are three guys even more nerdy than he. They seem to live together, but only have a life on-line. The conflating of their online life with the story we see is odd: they shift into a war movie where the "advancement" of the romance is equated with advancing on a battlefield. Elsewhere, this is completed by others and even the girl encouraging our guy to "be brave."

This is no "All About Lilly Chow Chow," which I aggressively recommend. That is deep; this is not.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Sweet love story. Cinematography is excellent. Enjoyed seeing Tokyo(esp. Akihabara) in a positive, clean light as opposed to the usual stereotyped noise/adverts. Went out and bought the soundtrack. Very melodious but atmospheric, mostly variations on the piano theme. It certainly adds to the surrealness of some scenes, but stands up very well on it's own. Slightly clichéd view of a net geek, but fun all the same. Hard to pull off a romance with two such different people, which shows the skill of the cast in creating the growing bonds of love between them. The loneliness of living in the big city is portrayed well, it may be especially poignant in Tokyo where many people find difficulty in approaching others and are often waiting for that "accident" to happen. The chance encounter provides an introduction which can be built on. Trainman is shown to be a caring person, brave enough to stand up to bullies to help others. This gives us the necessary key to go on rooting for him through the story.

Will have to watch the TV serial now !

This film is apparently based on a true story about a nerdy computer/anime geek who is very shy who saves a young lady from a drunk on the train. Their relationship slowly develops from there. As the train man, Takayuki Yamada does a very good job being angst ridden as he goes out with the very pretty Miki Nakatani. He has a support network of computer geeks who give him dating advice, root for him and sometimes envy him. Its this element that makes the movie a lot of fun. The film is quintessentially Japanese, as Tokyo comes alive, full of bright lights and ultra modern. You want to fast forward to see what happens, but don't. Just enjoy it, its a nice story well filmed and with good acting. I recommend it to any fan of romantic comedy.

The story behind this film was really interesting. Apparently it was based on a true story. The story goes like this: A 22 year old Japanese guy, called an otoku (it describes a video game and computer fanatic) saved a pretty young woman in her 20s from a drunkard on the train. She got his address, and send him a gift to thank him. The otoku, who thought the encounter was just a mirage, could not believe it and wanted to ask her out. But there's a problem: He is a nerd! He had never been out on a date and did not know what to do. Therefore, he turned to his only source of help: his computer, and using the name "Train Man", he asked for help on the largest site in Japan: 2channel. Interestingly enough, a bunch of helpful people came to his aid and in the end, he was able to be in a relationship with the girl of his dreams. This story was told by millions on 2channel before it was drawn to a manga, and then written in a book, then a play, and finally, into a screenplay for both a movie and a television series. The story became a hit, and everything telling this story became a hot item. The book and manga became best sellers, the movie became one of the highest grossing films, and the television series had a very decent percentage of viewers.

Truthfully, because I am not Japanese, I have not watched many Japanese films. Still, I tried to keep up with Japanese entertainment and in recent years, the trend tends to be romance film. There does not seem to be much romantic comedies being produced, but this is one of the better romantic comedies I have ever seen, including Chinese, Korean or Hollywood movies. What I like about this film is that first of all there is a sense of realism to this film; this movie feels real and could happen to anybody. The main character feels so real and has such a resonance to young desperate nerds that I could relate him to other desperate nerds that I know. Secondly, the comedy is not forced. Unlike Hollywood romantic comedies, which relies either toilet humor or physical comedy to keep the movie going, or Chinese romantic comedies, which uses crude sexual humor and play on words to keep the movie alive, this film uses realistic situations and realistic responses. What the desperate guy would do in those situations is understandable and the mistakes he makes, which are what makes the movie funny, seemed to be the just right and not unrealistic. The comedy seemed natural and the funny things that happens in the movie seemed to be the funny things of everyday life. Thridly, as the movie progresses, you see character development and the character becomes a more rounded person without sacrificing who he is. You want to root for the character and you feel his highs and lows. Fourthly, the formula for the movie, of a guy asking for date advice, is hilarious. I found it really funny that a guy would actually ask for date advice on the internet. You never know who you will get, as you might get your double to give you advice, and the movie proved it. All sorts of different people gave him advice, from singles, those who just broke up and those who are married, and it is kind of unthinkable that they are able to give the advice that they gave. Finally, the main reason why I like this film is that this movie truly personifies love in the new millennium. This is what happens to young people nowadays. Young people nowadays are so caught up in computers and video games that when there is a chance for love, they do not know how to respond and turn to the only thing they know: the computer. Luckily for the main character, many of the people are helpful and do not tried to sabotage his chance to have a relationship with the girl of his dreams.

Still, I feel that the movie tried to do too much. In the movie, the story of "train man" influenced all those around him. Those who helped him were so touched by his story that their lives were better. Other nerds went outside of their virtual world and tried to get in touch with reality; people who just broke up were able to move on; and a husband and wife had their romantic fire rekindled. You see how "train man" influenced them and you want to ask: Is that possible? Did he really help those people? Is it that great of a story that everyone is touched by it and have their lives improved? It feels like the movie makers are trying to promote this story as a life-changer. All this guy did was to have the courage to ask for advice and tried to get a date. I admit, it was brave, but it is far from a world changing experience.

I applaud the actor who took on the titled character. He gave a very real performance and captured me. He did not tried to force anything. Everything he did feel natural. You really feel that you are indeed watching the story of a nerd.

Other than the movie trying to do too much, the movie is great. It has an inspiring story and leaves plenty for people to imagine at the end. Plus, it is one of the funniest romantic comedies I have ever seen without using toilet humor and everything is clean. A great film for all ages.

8/10

When looking into foreign movies they are not originally made for a vast public like Americans. Japanese culture is nothing like American or European culture, its actually the exact opposite. You may not understand everything about that through this movie and you should not judge the movie because you don't understand it. This movie is a great movie, it has decent acting, most can agree the plot is predictable at times. For everyone who did not like the move because it seemed rather strange try to re-watch it with an open mind. Recommendations for people who like Japanese movies include: Tokyo Sonata and The Departures. Two very good movies not as humorous but tell a lot about the Japanese culture and also have great plots.