Turtles Swim Faster Than Expected (2005)
"Kame wa igai to hayaku oyogu" (original title)

Suzume Katagura is an bored housewife, she spends her days doing chores and taking care of her husbands pet turtle. One day she sees an wanted ad for spies, hoping for some excitement she decides to give them a call.

Director:

Satoshi Miki

Writer:

Satoshi Miki (screenplay)

Stars:

Juri Ueno, Yû Aoi, Ryô Iwamatsu

Cast

Credited cast:
Juri Ueno	...	Suzume Katakura
Yû Aoi	...	Kujaku Ogitani
Ryô Iwamatsu	...	Shizuo Kugitani
Eri Fuse	...	Etsuko Kugitani
Jun Kaname	...	Kato
Masatô Ibu	...	Nakanishi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vincent Giry
Yasuhito Hida
Shunsuke Matsuoka	...	Nirayama
Yutaka Matsushige	...	Ramen Chef
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Policeman
Yoshiyuki Morishita
Toshifumi Muramatsu
Yôichi Nukumizu	...	Barber
Nobuto Okamoto

Storyline

Suzume Katagura is an bored housewife, she spends her days doing chores and taking care of her husbands pet turtle. One day she sees an wanted ad for spies, hoping for some excitement she decides to give them a call.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

2 July 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wilco Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Turtles are not so fast after all!

Being a fan of Yu Aoi, I make it a priority to see all of her films....at least the ones that are available with English subs. So when I came across the hilarious online trailer for "Turtles Swim Faster Than Expected", I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Lucky for me, I found a copy with English subtitles and went into it with huge expectations. Little did I know that pretty much all of the funny moments in this film are already shown in the trailer. I could compare the experience to already knowing the punchline to a joke, but then having to go through listening to the setup.

The biggest problem with the movie is the story, or lack thereof. It does have an interesting premise, but definitely does not live up to its potential. I was quite disappointed with where the plot was going about half way into the film and the ending was just a mess! The film all too often strays away from the plot and gets down right ridiculous in some instances.

I'm glad to say that not all is lost. Juri Ueno's performance was spectacular and her on screen charisma is what makes this film at least somewhat watchable. Yu Aoi was just as charming and adorable as she is in every film, but wasn't used nearly enough. I also must comment on the song playing at the end. It was very catchy and put a smile on my face even though the movie as a whole was a big letdown. Don't get me wrong, there are some funny parts in the movie, but they are few and far between.

Overall I'm extremely disappointed even though the movie was still decent. Its more of the fact that it had so much potential and wasted it. An interesting premise + Juri and Yu would seem to be a sure thing, but instead the writers went with total absurdity + underdeveloped characters + pointless plot and thought that would somehow work.

I give the film 6/10 but that is largely due to the performances of Juri and Yu.