Like Someone in Love (film)

http://www.someonein.com

Like Someone in Love
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Produced by Kenzo Horikoshi
Nathanaël Karmitz
Written by Abbas Kiarostami
Starring Rin Takanashi
Tadashi Okuno
Ryō Kase
Cinematography Katsumi Yanagishima
Production
company
MK2
Eurospace
Release dates
  • May 2012 (Cannes)
Running time
 109 minutes
Country France
Japan
Language Japanese
Budget US$ 4.8 million
Box office $486,075[1][2]

Like Someone in Love (Japanese: ライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ Raiku Samuwan In Rabu) is a Japanese-language drama film written and directed by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, starring Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno and Ryō Kase. The French-Japanese production competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]

Plot summary

In Tokyo, sociology student Akiko (Rin Takanashi) moonlights as a high-end prostitute. Her jealous boyfriend, Noriaki (Ryō Kase) is suspicious, but does not know about her work.

One night, she is assigned to Takashi (Tadashi Okuno), an elderly former university professor who is more interested in making her dinner than having sex. The morning after their unconsummated night, Takashi drives Akiko to school for her exams. While waiting in the car for her, he encounters Noriaki, who assumes Takashi is her grandfather and asks permission to marry her. Takashi does not correct Noriaki's assumption and assures him he isn't ready for marriage.

After Akiko's test, the three drive toward a bookstore. Noriaki diagnoses a problem with the car, and convinces Takashi to drive it to the garage he owns, where he replaces a fan belt. There they encounter one of Takeshi's former students; Akiko worries he will reveal the truth to Noriaki.

Takashi drops Akiko at the bookstore and returns home. Soon afterwards, he receives a panicked phone call from Akiko and returns to the bookstore to pick her up. Her mouth is bloodied, but she does not say why. Takashi takes Akiko to his apartment. Noriaki arrives, threatening them over the intercom and banging on the door. Takashi peers out his window to see what Noriaki is doing. An object is thrown through the window and Takashi falls to the floor.

Cast

Crew

Production

Like Someone in Love is a film production of France's MK2 Group and Japan's Eurospace. It had a budget of $4.8 million (US). Filming was originally planned for April 2011, but had to be rescheduled because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The film was eventually shot during eight weeks in October 2011.[5] Filming was done in Tokyo and Yokohama.[6]

The film had the production title The End. It was Kiarostami's second fiction feature made outside his native Iran, following Certified Copy (2010), which was shot in Italy.[6]

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mostly positive reviews by critics. It holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews and reports a rating average of 7.2 out of 10[7] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 76 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

David Denby of The New Yorker writes, "This story, driven by undercurrents and oblique hints, is almost surprising in its circumspection." He adds, "The cinematography is clear and hard-focussed, and the editing produces long, flowing passages. This exquisitely made, elusive film has a lulling rhythm and a melancholy charm, which makes its abrupt ending that much more of a shock."[9]

Awards

Year Award Category Result Recipient
2012 Chicago International Film Festival Best International Feature Nominated Abbas Kiarostami
65th Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated Abbas Kiarostami
2013 7th Asian Film Awards Best Cinematographor Nominated Katsumi Yanagijima
7th Asian Film Awards Best Director Nominated Abbas Kiarostami
7th Asian Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated Ryo Kase

References

  1. ↑ Like Someone in Love (2013). Box Office Mojo (2013-04-25). Retrieved on 2014-05-25.
  2. ↑ Like Someone in Love. Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-25.
  3. ↑ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  4. ↑ "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". timeout. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  5. ↑ Slater, Patrik (2012-01-24). "Kiarostami advances Love". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Staff writer (2012-01-24). "Kiarostami's film ends production phase". Press TV. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  7. ↑ "Like Someone in Love (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Like Someone in Love". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Denby, David (March 4, 2013). "Dangerous Liaisons". The New Yorker 89 (3): 80.

External links