Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (2009)

A dramatic thriller that centers on a fish-market employee who doubles as a contract killer.

Director:

Isabel Coixet

Writer:

Isabel Coixet

Stars:

Rinko Kikuchi, Sergi López, Min Tanaka

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Ryu
Sergi López	...	David
Min Tanaka	...	Narrador
Takeo Nakahara	...	Nagara
Hideo Sakaki	...	Ishida
Manabu Oshio	...	Yoshi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kôsuke Hishinuma
Jun Matsuo	...	Pukka
Joan Potau
Josep Sandoval

Storyline

A dramatic thriller that centers on a fish-market employee who doubles as a contract killer.

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Plot Keywords:

jgirl | almond eyes | slim woman | japanese woman | japanese girl | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Japanese English Catalan

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Carte des sons de Tokyo

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,159,683

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mediapro, Versátil Cinema

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabel Coixet claims that she came up with the idea of Rinko Kikuchi's character while promoting The Secret Life of Words (2005) in Tokyo. Coixet was taking pictures during a walk through the city. She arrived at a fish market and tried to take one of a girl who was cleaning fish. The girl refused to get photographed, so Coixet started imagining possible reasons for that refusal.

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Goofs

After David joins Ryu at the Love Hotel after cutting his hand, Rinko Kikuchi (Ryu) is laying on a couch. Her shoulder is covered in the two close ups but largely uncovered after the cut where the camera is further from her.

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Crazy Credits

After the final credits there's a short scene with the mysterious plant person in the subway tunnel.

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Connections

Referenced in Stockholms 20th International Film Festival (2009)

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Soundtracks

Higoreno Madode
Written by Takahashi Kikutarou and Ikeda Fujio
Performed by Noriko Awaya

User Reviews

A thoughtful piece about broken characters

'Map of the Sounds of Tokyo' is no Thriller. It's more of a slow drama centering on the young Ryu, that lives a lonely and silent life in the chaos of Tokyo. She spends her nights working on a fish market while from time to time hanging out with another lonely old guy. Her routine is only broken by the casual killings that she performs, though those things never become the center of the story.

Parallel to Ryu we see how the suicide of some girl in the town leaves her father grieving and broken, which is why his subordinate orders Ryu to kill the dead girl's boyfriend David from Spain.

In slow pictures we follow all those connected persons through their daily lives dealing with loneliness and grief. We often hear only the sounds of the city and silence from the protagonists, which helps to understand how lost they all are in this big world. You will not find the good or the bad guy in this piece. Most of the times the atmosphere is rather depressing with only a few glimpses of sunshine here and there, especially when Asian and European culture are opposing each other. I would compare the general feeling and vibe of the movie with Amélie, though the latter one leaves you at least with a smile and some hope at the end.

For me, the key to the movie seems to be that no matter where you are from or what you are doing for a living, we all want and need another person in our life. And also how easy it is to be alone in such a big city full of people like Toyko. And while I like the movie's depth and slowness, it is kind of hard to connect with any of the protagonists. No one is really likable and often they seem so passive about their situations.

Just how life, the movie is not perfect. But it may help you to slow down in this fast and loud world for a little time to value the people around you.