Dârin wa gaikokujin

This film provides a window into cross-cultural romantic difficulties, but the more pointed possibilities are relegated to individual lines of dialogue that can easily get lost in a a "rom- com" haze. As a movie, "My Darling is a Foreigner" is of the type that could well play on the Japanese version of the "Hallmark" channel - a "made for TV" sort of film, best viewed as a cultural artifact rather than a major motion picture with international appeal. The interviews with other cross-cultural couples a la "When Harry Met Sally" are more revealing of the kind of issues that can come up in such relationships; the dramatization of these conflicts in the actual Saori-Tony relationships in the movie are pallid in comparison. The interspersed drawings from Saori's Manga have a freshness that scenes of the coupe frolicking on the beach or making their bed together are the kind of filmmaking clichés that a Woody Allen would have masterfully satirized in a film like "Annie Hall," or "Love and Death."

I sought out as many reviews as I could find to understand the cultural relevance of the plot. It does indeed seem like a burning social issue for Japanese society, and as such, its appeal to a domestic Japanese audience is understandable. I most appreciated the words of a cross- cultural blogger, who suggested that any who choose to criticize "My Darling" view it alongside Sophia Coppola's Oscar-winning "Lost In Translation." As pieces that might have made arguments for cross-cultural sensitivity, they are equally lacking.