The Goddess of 1967 (2000) User Reviews (33)

Neither Nothing or everything.

[Chandler_ · 8/10 · 4 August 2002]

Not many people have seen this film. Those who have seen it, will either hate it or love it. I loved it.

The movie starts with a computer screen that says: I want to buy GOD.

The Prologue doesn't have any human voices. The world the director shows of Japan is obvious. A world of Japanese high-tech. Everywhere there are machines, nobody lives without it. Even as they communicate. As well as the running is been done on a machine.

Clara Law has a very interesting and personal view which shows us her own interesting personality that she is. Because of that movie I can't let go of that.

She succeeds in showing us her own vision of The Goddess of 1967 because she stays consequent by creating a contemporary and postmodern feeling. A feeling she got from her own environment. Born in Macau, studied English literature in Hong Kong. Afterwards Film in London and lives with her husband in Australia.

What Clara Law tries to explain in her movie is sort of autobiographic, it is obvious that she reflects this on the two protagonists. Both characters living in two completely different countries and cultures. Clara Law doesn't work this movie out in a shallow kind of way. She does it within a own creative way and lets the characters explore each other

One character JM appears to be having everything he wants. Financial that is. He is so wealthy he believes he can buy god. Therefore he wants to buy this is beautifully car called the CITROEN DS from 1967. The GODdess. For JM this means freedom. Free of all the big luxury, being unhooked of all the machines.

The other character is BG. A girl who has been blind for all her life. Because of a suddenly death of the dealer of the car, BG will lead JM the way to the real owner of the car. Or so she says.

Once they are on the road with the car, you can follow the mental way of both characters. On the road the flashbacks follow and the viewer learns the pain and history of the characters and why the are what they are.

Neither silent or moving. Neither perceivable or imperceptible Neither nothing or everything. A state of mystery, paradox, ambiguity That is what I tried to capture in this film. CLARA LAW

Thank you Clara Law.....

a difficult but worthwhile film

[daydreamblvr1210 · 7/10 · 24 November 2004]

Rose Byrne's performance alone makes this film worth a look (it still airs occasionally on sundance). Actors who take on the challenging role of blind characters are nothing new- but to see a talented actress take to it with total commitment and still be very believable and not over the top is something special. Rose Byrne is brilliant here as B.G. and really shines in the more subtle moments, which are the primary driving force for this Clara Law film.

The theme of incest abuse and it's lingering affects through generations make for very heavy subject matter that would otherwise threaten to undermine the film's subtle tone - but it's told in flashback here and works surprisingly well. The comparisons of style to Wenders and Jarmusch are apt since it is precisely the more subtle scenes in this film that resonate more as the viewer gets drawn into the lives and past histories of this unlikely couple.

Not a perfect film by any means - the loving yet determinist, religious mother, Marie could have been fleshed out more, as well as the male lead - but the real gem here is Rose Byrne. Disregard the fluff roles from wicker park and troy, this is arguably her best performance to date.

Artistic but lacking substance.

[Ezekkial · 6/10 · 13 December 2005]

This film has two very redeemable qualities. The fantastic cinematography and the performance of Rose Byrne. The rest of the film however--

While The Goddess of 1967 is very pleasing to look at, the actions of the characters are frequently shallow and seemingly random. For example, during the conclusion, it simply was not believable that B.G. would make the choice to put her past aside and choose to pursue a life with J.M. when the chemistry and dialogue between the two characters was so completely mindless.

Law failed to demonstrate the growth and change B.G. allegedly must have made during the trip and forces her into a 180 at the end of the film as a quick fix.

funny, intoxicating and dazzling.

[Joracle · 19 September 2001]

I went into the Cinema expecting... I don't know what. I knew it was a road trip picture with a Japanese man and Australian woman... they looked pretty enough on the poster. What I didn't expect was two very real people, scared, vulnerable and eccentric characters on a journey across Australia that becomes luminous and intoxicating.

The visual style of the film /cinematography, while gorgeous, was at first distracting... what some people would consider artsy. But as the story unfolds, the visual look of the film matches with the messy, hypnotic storyline and its characters.

A beautiful film, one with an unexpected emotional wallop.

Absolutely gorgeous photography

[xjones · 6/10 · 14 December 2005]

While some of the content of the film was not something I enjoy watching, there were two things that I did enjoy. The first was the slower, unrushed pace at which the story unfolded. Many times you were left to absorb the characters and situations without the writers feeling the need to fill up the silence (both words and movement). The second aspect I enjoyed *very* much was the photography. I have not seen a film with such fabulous photography in many a while. Certainly the Australian outback is a lovely creature but seemingly almost every frame was beautifully composed as well as displaying very rich and striking colours or -- when in not in the sunny outdoors -- tonal contrast. In addition, many of the camera movements added to the feeling of the story rather than be a distraction as in so many movies. The photography was such that I actively looked for the director of it in the credits, which thing I rarely do.

HK Connetion 8.11.2017

[SancarSeckiner · 7/10 · 27 December 2017]

Your occupation with high income is essential. Providing expensive clothes with designer labels , night life, bars with spirits and music , trips to Maldives , Mexico Bay , calm beaches of Africa by plane or liners , even by high speed catamaran without considering seasonal restrictions , open air concerts, opera , theater , all exclusive accesses which you will feel personally special , heavily depend on money. Spend money , feel better. You are only someone if you have money. JM , a Japanese consumer living an ultramodern lifestyle around the steel and glass mammoths of Tokyo, has a desire to buy a Citroen DS. He finds one in Australia via internet. He takes the flight down only to find which he has not met at the airport. He goes to the house where he thinks the owner lives only to find a red-haired blind girl, BG. The car is there in perfect condition , but owner not. However , BG knows where he is. Optimistically, only five days away. The Citroen DS is a much-loved car. It was also breathtakingly beautiful. It was the epiphany of technological and design. DS was one of the final nominees for Car of the Century. Therefor it became a part of contemporary mythology. Both JM and BG live blinkered lives. BG in an obvious sense , and JM in the sense that he leads this materialistic must-have lifestyle. He even buys the latest snorkeling equipment even though he only wears it around his small apartment by dreaming. The appeal of the car for JM was as a possession that he can collect. It instead provides a catalyst for JM & BG to break away and redeem themselves from the closed off , blinkered lifestyles they live to find atonement and their true nature. The film has wonderful vivid, unreal colors. This fits since the two leads have shut themselves off with painful souls and away from the real world when they journey into the spectacular but harsh landscape. P.S. Film based on C.L' s 18 days road trip by 4x4 car. There are two important locations : Lighthning Ridge (for The Goddess of 1967) and White Cliffs ( for The Mechanical Bird-This film is not appeared yet.)

Freshly and interestingly experimental

[hcheu · 9/10 · 9 June 2001]

Clare Law was a successful blockbuster director while she was in Hong Kong, who made films like The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus. Her artistic ambition has taken her to another level of filmmaking. The Goddess of 1967 is highly experimental in style. Unlike many experimental works, however, this film does not seem pointless. On the contrary, it has a very powerful story. The story is therapeutic; it deals with abuse, incest and obsession, with an ending of recognition and reconciliation (but not the kind of phony sentimental type that is typical of Hollywood drama). This film is a work of art. Its cinematography is beautiful; its writing is humorous, despite the fact that the story is heavy. I hope the DVD will be released soon.

wonderful

[zoe_smith · 9/10 · 25 October 2005]

I don't have time to go into in-depth considered praise for this film, but it's a film I have watched several times, and feel it deserves a pat-on-the-back. Although some of the underlying issues that the main characters have gone through are in many respects very serious and macabre, I don't think it was the director's intent to make this a depressing movie which dwells on those issues alone. Goddess is an art movie. It's designed to be visually different and controversial for its handling of subject matter. Blindness, incest, murder, dysfunctionality. An unexpected combination of events against the spectacular backdrop of the Australian outback. Ironically, the central character is blind, and cannot see all this visual beauty directly. But, she somehow finds a strength and sensitivity amongst the far from beautiful physical abuse she grown up with. Somehow with this is intertwined an ex-fashion model from Japan, and a cult car. It's an artistic celluloid canvas. I don't think an average director could put all these elements together and come off with a really watchable and intriguing movie. I love the central character's feisty, yet carefree independence. Free-spirited female viewers will love this. I think most male viewers will miss the subtlety of the movie's intent, and will therefore not enjoy it so much. Makes a really refreshing change from your regular Hollywood flick.

Tedious

[blueharv · 5/10 · 10 January 2002]

Visually impressive in a way that few films are, The Goddess of 1967 is a sumptuous feast for the eyes. Unfortunately all the eye candy in the world can't save a film that suffers dreadfully from being extremely self indulgent. There's nothing wrong with a slow film as evidenced by such cinematic gems as The Thin Red Line so long as the winding narrative path takes the audience somewhere. The Goddess of 1967 fails in this regard. Ponderous and meandering, The Goddess of 1967 is a tedious example of a film overly impressed with its own importance.

Beautiful piece of work.

[ETCmodel02 · 10/10 · 18 February 2002]

This film does several things that are hard to read and harder to fully appreciate without being hammered over the head with the story's themes. The film is set up as a series of overlapping contrasts, and that is the part I'm most stricken by. Contrasts of culture, morality, experience, gender, needs and conclusions. The film sets up expectations for the characters, then proceeds to change said expectations as the characters evolve and reveal like layers peeling away. I'm awed by much of the delicate caress of the pacing, and the contrast of the beautiful way many of the scenes are shot against the contents of the scenes themselves. I adore this film.

Visually stylish but vacuous road movie

[ghp1954 · 3/10 · 4 May 2001]

The Goddess of the title is a Citroen DS which a young Japanese Man agrees to buy over the internet. When he arrives in Australia to get it, the owner is dead and he embarks on a journey into the outback with a blind girl for a reason which is never clear, even when it is made apparent at the end. The result is probably best described as contemporary Art House. The film substitutes a vacuous but street smart style for content, and bizarre quirkiness for characterisation. Its flashbacks into the deprived and abused past of the blind girl are bleak, but otherwise there is little story and the two main characters appear almost lost in the vast landscapes they are travelling through. Could Australian movies please get over their current pretentious pre-occupation with mad and irrational characters and meaningless storylines?

The votes on this site, and some press reviews, suggest that some people enjoyed this film. I suspect they are the same people who enjoyed performance art during the 1990s and Andy Warhol movies in the 1980s. Clara Law succeeds in striking a style, but tells us nothing we want to know. Even the Australian outback, which dominates the film, gets a raw deal: the locations appear random, the colour in the outdoor scenes is fashionably bleached, and the whole thing was shot during the wettest summer for years.

Dazzling, Unique Road Movie

[Benedict_Cumberbatch · 19 June 2007]

Wong Kar-Wai ("In the Mood for Love") meets Jim Jarmusch ("Broken Flowers") and flirts with Wim Wenders ("Paris, Texas") and David Lynch ("The Elephant Man", "Blue Velvet"). That'd be a simplified way of describing "The Goddess of 1967", a dazzling, unique road movie written and directed by Clara Law ("Floating Life").

The goddess of the title isn't a woman, but the nickname of a Citroën DS, a famous car designed in the 50's. A young Japanese man (Rikiya Kurokawa) dreams of buying that car, and he travels to Australia after he finds an offering on the net. He has an unpleasant surprise when he gets there, and then embarks on a road trip through the outback with a mysterious, red-haired blind girl (Rose Byrne, who deservedly won the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival and was robbed of an Oscar nod).

Byrne is the soul of this film. She has some of the saddest eyes I've ever seen, an exotic, captivating beauty and one of the most cinematic faces of the past years (her dance scene at the bar is anthologic - probably my favourite since Uma Thurman's in "Pulp Fiction"). She's been in lots of different films since her breakthrough, from blockbusters (Star Wars II, Troy) to indies (City of Ghosts, The Dead Girl), period dramas (I Capture the Castle, Marie Antoinette) to horror/sci-fi (28 Weeks Later, Sunshine), has proved herself extremely versatile and deserves to be a big name. But special kudos go to Clara Law, her co-writer Eddie Ling-Ching Fong and cinematographer Dion Beebe (Oscar winner for "Memoirs of a Geisha"), responsible for the breathtaking visuals (Aussie landscapes seldom looked so gorgeous).

Incest, murder, blindness aren't light issues, and a less talented director could make an imbroglio with this material. Fortunately, Clara Law knows what she's talking about and her film is a cinematic poem - sad, sometimes disturbing, but not depressing (I have no idea how could someone classify this as a comedy, though). She shows much more talent than other contemporary female avant-garde directors, such as the overrated Claire Denis ("Beau Travail") or Lynne Ramsay ("Morvern Callar"). "The Goddess of 1967" is a vigorous film that deserves to be discovered. My vote is 10.

Inspiring, different, tremendous

[sarans · 10/10 · 15 June 2001]

If you are driving or contemplating a purchase of a featureless economical car with automatic transmission, or if you have REALLY managed to bear the tedious 3 hours of `The Titanic' without leaving the theatre for a half-an-hour refreshment or for good, THE GODDESS OF 1967 is not a film for you. On the other hand, if you are sick of being able to predict the remaining two and a half hours of the contemporary Hollywood mind-numbing production, Clara Law has a remedy for you! Moreover, if you have ever fallen in love with a car, you would be even more delighted to see that there are people like you out there.

The first hint of the cinematic joy that THE GODDESS OF 1967 offers is clear from the first 10 minutes of the film. That is, you realise that behind the whole idea, no matter what it is going to be, there is the AUTHOR, and not the producers, stuntmen, pyrotechnicians, special-effect crew, low-IQ charity … Clara Law is an author with a `handwriting', reminiscent to that of Jim Jarmush or Wim Wenders, but still far from an immitator. Not many authors opt for using a variety of `narative techniques' that film as a media offers. It can be `slippery ground' since the story line can easily be overshadowed by the means of telling it. However, Clara Law bravely takes the challenge, carrying us smoothly through the wonderful world of moving pictures backed by enchanting music.

Thematically, THE GODDESS OF 1967 incorporates a number of topics, child abuse being but one of them. In fact, it poses questions before us, through the mouth of the blind girl. Questions seemingly so simple that most of us would not bother asking, yet most of us would not be able to answer them, as well as the characters in the film remain perplexed, stammering nonsense that reverberates mockingly.

THE GODDESS OF 1967 is a meeting point of several worlds. Not only the Japanese and the Australian meet there, but also the European, embodied in the relic car symbolising the old virtues and culture refusing to die out. Further, overpopulated Tokyo is contrasted to the vast Australian landscape, both offering an abundance of colour, sounds and even smells. The good and the evil, love and hate, reason and absurdity, trauma and optimism, gloom and humour are interwoven into the plot with straightforward simplicity, which makes the film surprisingly lifelike. All these worlds and plans are uncompromisingly exposed, celebrating beauty but not hiding ugliness. Finally, the film brings all these worlds closer to us, making us richer for knowing one another better.

A truly wonderful piece of filmmaking.

[mtnbiker404 · 9/10 · 21 May 2002]

I just finished viewing this movie (The Goddess of 1967) that my roommate had rented and was quite moved by it. On a basic level, it's a tale of contrasts. That of a naive, young Japanese man (Rikiya Kurokawa) and a blind Australian girl, Deidre (Rose Byrne). The movie tells of their journey through the Australian outback after the Japanese man travels to Australia in search of the car of his dreams, a classic French Citroen. Of course it's much deeper than that. The trip is not a vacation, but a journey of release particularly for the young woman who has been tormented for most of her short life by the horrible memories of sexual abuse and a mother who failed to stop it. Unbeknownst to the young man he has been taken on a ride that will open his eyes to a world he never knew existed. In return, Deidre, encounters many things she has never experienced before from a man. Those are compassion, honesty and true love. There is one wonderful scene where he teaches her to dance in a lonely bar in the middle of nowhere. To see the joy in the face of someone who has, in her unfortunate life, rarely experienced such feelings is truly uplifting. I had to watch that scene more than once. In the end, Deidre, finds the peace she is looking for. Perhaps not in the way she thought she might, but she does. And that's something she so much deserves.

Should come with "Disturbing" warning...

[suejones65 · 5/10 · 9 February 2005]

I loathe the phrase "It's only a movie", as in, "it's not real, they're only actors, don't let a film affect your emotions". If you're not going to lose yourself in a good film or become emotionally affected, perhaps learn something, or find entertainment value, then what's the point, or the fun. Obviously it's only a movie, but I for one can relate to scenarios, or start to equate a film to real people's lives, envisioning the woes and traumas of dark story lines affecting people all too vividly in the real world. There are certain scenes in certain films that haunt me and stick in the back of my mind like an ugly memory, making the fact that the film was great or not a mute point. No, I don't want to put blinders on keeping myself ignorant to despair, enabling it to continue, however these scenes that haunt me, I could live without and wish I could erase from memory! GODDESS OF 1967 has a few such scenes which I found particularly disturbing and I wish I had never seen this film because of those few disturbing scenes. I can't find this film beautiful or look at it strictly as an artistic endeavor with attempts at social commentary. The degree of victimization and acts of desperation to survive which the main character is driven to, is truly depressing, regardless of the lessons or outcome. I did not get enough value or mind opening insight from this film to make it worth watching. People who's projected imagination and human empathy are less vivid than mine, will probably have a much milder take on this film.

Disturbing and beautiful

[samhill5215 · 8/10 · 4 January 2010]

I find films that deal with the messier parts of human family interactions difficult to watch, especially when done convincingly. This film does just that. No matter one's beliefs regarding life and death, you know that Grandpa had much to atone for and perhaps was even deserving of death as punishment for his actions. But when the story reached its conclusion I found myself strangely satisfied that no other outcome was possible. I was relieved because any other outcome would have imposed some intolerable burdens. Salvation lay in the affection between the two protagonists.

I sought this film out for Rose Byrne and was not disappointed. She is one phenomenal actor with an amazing range and the ability to mold herself into any personality. Her performance is worth the film's nearly two hours running time. The direction was flawless and the camera work simply astounding. Some of the visuals were nearly hypnotic in their beauty, such as the scenes of the sky dotted with clouds and the DS in the foreground.

My gripes are minor. I found it a bit too long. There was too much of Byrne's character stumbling around feeling her way about. We get it, she is blind, we don't need constant reminding. I don't know that so much of that added anything and at least in my case it detracted. Then the car: how is it possible that it survived in this pristine condition? No tears in the upholstery, the chrome impeccable, no mechanical defects, showroom ready. Even in western Australia's dry climate one would expect some wear and tear.

As I said these are minor gripes. "The Goddess of 1967" is a significant achievement in cinematic history especially given the absence of special effects, action-packed sequences and copious amounts of blood and gore.

ArtHouse Nonsense. Did we watch the same movie?

[DarkSpotOn · 1/10 · 22 September 2023]

Are you into Movies like GUMMO, EREASERHEAD, BEGOTTEN, MIDSOMMAR, Arthouse plotless, non-sense??? Then get ready, this movie is for you! This whole movie is an arthouse movie, and i hated every second of it.

First off, like every Arthouse movie, there's zero plot. What's the plot? A Japanese man buys a car, and a blind woman out of no where appears, and we just follow them doing N. O. T. H. I. N. G. Imagine that dragged to 2 hours, that's what this movie is. 2 hours of nothing.

If i knew this was an arthouse film when i played it, i never would of played it, because i hate arthouse movies, this is the cherry on top of why i hate these kind of movies.

There's nothing fun, interesting or anything worth 2 hours going on in this movie. Also, we are learning about this woman's life 2, 5, 30 years ago forwards in the movie???? Wouldn't it be better if oh maybe whoever wrote this, made this movie go like every other normal movie? Meaning what happened 30 years ago, we learn about it at the start at the movie, not at the end of the movie.

Bad writing, nearly plotless movie, if you are into Arthouse films rock on. As for me and everyone else that does not like Arthouse films, avoid this at all cost. I'm sorry.

Stunning in a good way

[lauralikesgirls · 14 December 2003]

Oi! How can I say how I felt about this film using actual words. This is a description that requires a lot of hand gestures.

It moves in such a way that you are carried along with the action, not separated from the action by this big "movie". It has a fly on the wall feeling to it, and it all fits together. Each scene, well each shot really, fits perfectly jigsawed in with those surrounding it. Very polished and precise. It seems to just naturally happen, not forced. Even the frequent use of flashbacks came off as natural and easy.

Very beautiful to look at. Warm colors and textures. Very sweet, real romance.

Humanity peeled down to most raw and simple. I was pulled by the shirt-collar through each path of the story. I really couldn't have stopped watching it even if I had wanted to (which I didn't). Very controlled, purposeful tension.

Beautiful.

Way ahead of 'Japanese Story' in every way.

[unrelated_thing · 10/10 · 29 December 2003]

I loved this movie. It is lovely to look at, especially the way the scenery is filmed (& I don't care who tries to contemptuously dismiss it as 'arty'. I don't want to look at tourist brochure cinematography, a la 'Japanese Story' - I've already been to the outback & seen the scenery). The characters felt real to me (& never acted in ways that were inconsistent with or unexplained in terms of their personality & motives, unlike Toni Colette's character in 'Japanese Story'). If you do not tend to connect with or understand characters who have lived isolated or socially marginalised lives, you may react the way the previous reviewer did (i.e. with annoyed disdain). However, if your life has not followed the mainstream-media 'happy families' narrative, you might, as I did, be able to deeply relate to the main characters, as well as the whole sense & sensibility of this movie.

Japan very different than Australia

[t.j.schramm · 9/10 · 11 February 2001]

I really liked this movie. It showed how different Japan is compared to Australia. Although i have never been in either of the countries I think that this film gave me a good impression of what I could expect.

A person from the nearly unhuman hi tech world of Tokio comes to look for an old car which is more than low tech. Australia - outside of the towns - is just natural countryside and the people living there are more animal than human. So both the worlds are extreme. In this extreme world a love story is set.

Very interesting.

High quality

[hylinski · 8/10 · 19 October 2005]

This film combines an interesting and meaningful plot with cinematography which is a tribute to the many textures of Australia and some restrained but insightful acting and direction.

Most of the funding for the movie was from two state governments. The producers have had to be sparing with their special effects. Despite this the film has more atmosphere than most Hollywood films with budgets in the tens of millions.

This film does not shout any particular message at its audience, so how much you see is really up to you. Many films about such a sensitive topic can be too heavy handed. It is a great credit to Clara Law that she says so much so quietly.

change of character, for her yes, what themes at play though?

[robie-1 · 18 July 2001]

In movies - road movies especially - we are looking for change in the characters, the relationships and possibly the balance between two themes. In the Goddess we see Deidre become more whole, at a physical level by wanting and experiencing tender lovemaking. And debatably in the end as her search to confront her dad/granddad is fulfilled - death and his death in particular no longer an obsession. What of the male character though? Although very well played and amusing - what journey does he really undertake? Has he learned to drive with his eyes closed? Learned to love a being without scales?

And in looking for themes that may be juxtaposed or in tension with each other - yes there is Megacity Vs Outback, there is beauty vs ugliness, black holes vs religion, responsibility for yourself vs the excuse of horrid childhood - but for me somehow they were a bit fitted in, if any one stands out - perhaps it is travelling with a purpose vs with your eyes closed, and the frightning thing of travelling with a purpose (to buy the car or kill your dad) turns out to be: What then? What do you do next? Perhaps being able to travel with your eyes closed is a better skill after all.

Visually and emotionally stunning

[maudielebowski · 9/10 · 15 June 2006]

I saw this movie at a film festival, and have been patiently waiting for it to be distributed. Unfortunately, the world at large is deprived of the pleasure. This film conveys a collector's love (a difficult thing to understand if you don't have the affliction), and a profound sense of culture and culture shock. The most remarkable thing is that all this is done without overuse of dialog. Through the study of the human condition and the connection that can exist between two people previously unmet, the audience is witness to an evolution on several levels. Beautifully shot and artfully acted, this film achieves (and then some) what Japanese Story fell short of.

Rose Byrne is a revelation.

[dead47548 · 8/10 · 9 January 2008]

The visual style and irregular story structure of this one is almost too unique at first. It really catches you off guard and feels strange and uncomfortable for the first couple of scenes. However, once the road trip starts and it becomes a two-character journey, the awkwardness settles down and allows you to become more relaxed and involved. The three main flashback scenes feel unnecessary and distracting at first, but once we make it to the finale everything comes full circle and all of the 'unecessary' filler from before just adds more and more to the complexities of Rose's character. So the entire film is pretty much just a buildup for the finale, which can be annoying and unstructured. The final payoff also isn't nearly worth the amount of seemingly pointless distractions throughout. Also the character of J.M. was extremely pointless and annoying. His only reasoning for being in the story is to propel B.G.'s story and give her a way of getting to where she needs to go. He doesn't develop at all, and we never learn anything about his ridiculously mysterious past. It's no bother though, because I would suffer any kind of torture in order to see Rose's performance. There is honestly no way to describe how utterly perfect she is. It's the second greatest female performance I've ever seen. She handles so much inner pain, turmoil and emotions that I can't even imagine what playing the part must have done to her. She's adorable, heartbreaking, hilarious, annoying, upsetting and strong all in one singular face. And she does all of this without an actor's best weapon; their eyes. It's the stuff legends are made of, and one of the five greatest performances of all time. Anything is worth enduring to see that performance.

How did Clara Law think of this film --- and write the script?

[rowmorg · 9/10 · 17 November 2010]

This movie has to take top marks for imagination. It begins with an obsessed Japanese man, who meets a blind 38 year-old woman in Australia. They travel together. There are flashbacks.

Try not watching this film: I don't think you will be able to. The images, the settings, the strange way it is told. See what happens when women make movies! See a female director credit and always go, you will never be disappointed.

Clara Bow was born in China (Macao) and has two different Chinese names, according to IMDb. She first made films in China, in Chinese. She must be quite a character: try finding out anything much about her. She's pretty elusive.

Rose Byrne --- a-a-a-ah! Rose is gorgeous, her depiction of the blind woman is superb. Her Japanese leading man is a knock-out, too.

This film is a great package: definitely take it in.