FILM REVIEW: "Sidonie in Japan" is a niche, tender exhibition of life after loss

A watched pot never boils, as they say, and the fun part of Sidonie in Japan is everything that happens outside your focus – the intentionally jarring use of green screen and superimposed rearview car camera (think early James Bond or Seinfeld with no intention of hiding the trick) give this film it’s distinct sense of theatrics. The melodrama present in both performance and dialogue enhance the sense of excitement at noticing the subtler effects at play.

Speaking of subtle, Sidonie in Japan achieves an almost supernatural air of receding absence that makes it impossible not to admire the restraint and shot selection of both editor and director. Sidonie in Japan is at it’s strongest when the camera does the talking, and the clever experimental techniques allow you the space to appreciate what it has to say. Undeniable is the poignancy of the landmarks and parks visited in the film, and comparatively, the many hotel rooms and halls fail to make much of an impression: I much preferred the outdoor segments.

While both stars nail the depiction of grief-stricken survivors meeting at the threshold of both romance and culture, more could have been done to distinguish these people from the environment around them. As they are, the performances seem to melt into the setting. The dialogue seems more observational than interpersonal. If this is intentional, I get it; these are people looking for something to hold onto. But when absence is created, what is left must sustain the stretches of sparsity, or risk the boredom which threatens to arise in the more blank moments of Sidonie.

With little dialogue, at times not much to look at, little in the way of music, and the unhurried rate at which Sidonie unfolds, the film may feel like a drag to less contemplative audiences. To the rest, it may evoke the same melancholic atmosphere as wandering through a museum. Sidonie in Japan is a trip for the heartbroken and the patient.

3 out of 5 stars