Like Someone In Love (2012)

Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Country: Japan / France

Review: Iranian film director Kiarostami continues sharing his personal vision on modern urban dramas. This time he turned to Japan to portray the story of Akiko, a sociology student who also works as a prostitute in Tokyo. Leaving her visiting grandmother waiting in a train station during the entire day, Akiko went to spend the night with a new client Takashi, an elderly widower and former professor. Despite of his intentions to just talk, eat and drink, Akiko falls asleep. On the next day, she accepts his ride to go to University for an exam, where her boyfriend Noriaki was expecting her. After an interesting chat in which the old man pretends to be Akiko’s grandfather and Noriaki admits his intention to marry her, they went to fix a problem with the car. In the garage, owned by Noriaki, someone will recognize Takashi as his former professor, putting the scheme in jeopardy. “Like Someone in Love” is a smart movie of circumstance, made in a sober manner. Applying a moderate pace, Kiarostami builds the characters so well, with such delightful details that they leave no room for doubts; we can gradually be aware of Akiko’s naivety, Takashi’s protectiveness, or Noriaki’s violent jealousy. The natural approach prevented staged situations, whereas the option of using implicit scenes instead of too explicit, is already a stylemark. The levels of satisfaction increased as the story proceeded, in this simple, objective, and engaging film.