Tony Takitani (Japanese)
"Tony Takitani" is an unusually lovely film about a man struggling with loneliness. It's just 75 minutes long and has only a few characters. There is very little dialogue. The musical score consists of a piano playing an evocative, haunting theme. In terms of achieving the mood it's aiming for, it's one of the most effective movies I've ever seen. The title character (played by Issei Ogata) is the son of a jazz musician who spends most of his time touring. Tony's mother died when he was an infant, so Tony learned to be alone throughout his early life. Now, as an adult -- first an art student, then a successful commercial illustrator -- he is alone but does not consider himself lonely. It's his natural state of being. Then he meets Eiko (Rie Miyazawa), a beautiful woman 15 years his junior with a passion for clothing and style. He proposes marriage, and while she is considering her answer, he realizes for the first time in his life that he is lonely. He can't imagine what he'll do if she says no. She says yes, and he spends the first few months of their marriage being terrified that something will happen and to make him be alone again.
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