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Fear and Trembling

Original title: Stupeur et tremblements
  • 20032003
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
Fear and Trembling (2003)
ComedyDrama
A Belgian woman looks back on her year at a Japanese corporation in Tokyo in 1990. She is Amélie, born in Japan, living there until age 5. After college graduation, she returns with a one-ye... Read allA Belgian woman looks back on her year at a Japanese corporation in Tokyo in 1990. She is Amélie, born in Japan, living there until age 5. After college graduation, she returns with a one-year contract as an interpreter. The vice president and section leader, both men, are boors,... Read allA Belgian woman looks back on her year at a Japanese corporation in Tokyo in 1990. She is Amélie, born in Japan, living there until age 5. After college graduation, she returns with a one-year contract as an interpreter. The vice president and section leader, both men, are boors, but her immediate supervisor, Ms. Mori, is beautiful and trustworthy. Amélie's downfall b... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
    • Alain Corneau
    • Amélie Nothomb(novel)
    • Alain Corneau(scenario)
  • Stars
    • Sylvie Testud
    • Kaori Tsuji
    • Tarô Suwa
    • Alain Corneau
    • Amélie Nothomb(novel)
    • Alain Corneau(scenario)
  • Stars
    • Sylvie Testud
    • Kaori Tsuji
    • Tarô Suwa
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 44User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos6

    Fear and Trembling (2003)
    Fear and Trembling (2003)
    Fear and Trembling (2003)
    Fear and Trembling (2003)
    Fear and Trembling (2003)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sylvie Testud
    Sylvie Testud
    • Amélie
    Kaori Tsuji
    • Fubuki
    Tarô Suwa
    Tarô Suwa
    • Monsieur Saito
    Bison Katayama
    • Monsieur Omochi
    Yasunari Kondo
    • Monsieur Tenshi
    Sôkyû Fujita
    • Monsieur Haneda
    Gen Shimaoka
    • Monsieur Unaji
    Heileigh Gomes
    • Amélie enfant
    Eri Sakai
    • Fubuki enfant
      • Alain Corneau
      • Amélie Nothomb(novel)
      • Alain Corneau(scenario)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Based on Amélie Nothomb's real-life experience when she was living Japan in her early twenties in the early 1990s . The real-life events narrated in the film took place at the same time than those narrated in Tokyo Fiancée (2014) which depicts Amélie Nothomb's romance with her then-fiancé Rinri. However, Tokyo Fiancée's director Stefan Liberski set his film in the early 2010s.
    • Goofs
      When Amélie sorts all GmbH clients in the same folder, her superior explains her that "GmbH is like Ltd in English or SA in French". GmbH is not SA in French, but SARL (Société anonyme à responsabilité limitée).
    • Connections
      Features Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      Goldberg Variations
      (selections)

      Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performed by Pierre Hantaï, harpsichord

    User reviews44

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    When West meets East, some of your ideas often go west!
    Films about working in the office – any office – have been done before: Nine to Five (1980) comes to mind readily and there are many others too numerous to mention.

    But, whereas this film has its comedic moments, it's not the same kind of comedy as the above, and not just because it was made in Japan, although that helped.

    This really is a story about the difficulties in communication and understanding that exist between cultures and, arguably, those differences between Japanese culture and Western are, or can be, daunting.

    Happily, the director presents the narrative from the Amelie's (Sylvie Testud) point of view almost exclusively. In doing so, he exposes and satirizes some of the ridiculous situations that do exist in the Japanese workplace, which, in another culture, would also be equally stupid, if not criminal.

    Everybody's come up against tunnel vision in a supervisor. And the same goes for professional jealousy between co-workers. The difference with this film is, of course, the fact that Japanese modes of interaction, manager-worker relationships and, most importantly, individual initiative are regarded very differently when compared to similar conditions in an office in New York, London, Sydney or any other major Western city. To take just one example, a Western vice-president these days would be charged with assault if he'd acted in the same way as Omochi (Bison Katayama) did towards Amelie when the toilet paper tray in the men's toilet was empty. The fact that I could still laugh at that scene testifies to the ability of the director to highlight the absurdity of it all.

    As you might expect, there's a lot of dialog, almost as much voice-over by Amelie as she thinks and fantasizes and very little in the way of action – well, action-fan type action, know what I mean? So, this movie will not appeal to everybody. I really liked it though as I have a soft spot for Japanese culture anyway, having been steeped in martial arts for nearly thirty years.

    For me, this was a subtly satisfying slice of life of a Westerner – and female to boot -- in Japan. And quite hilarious at times.
    helpful•4
    1
    • RJBurke1942
    • Feb 20, 2007

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 12, 2003 (France)
      • France
      • Japan
      • Cinema Guild (United States)
      • Official Site (France)
      • French
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Kyoto, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Canal+
      • Divali Films
      • France 3 Cinéma
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 47 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby

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