Tony Takitani (2005)
87%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 7 nominations
Tony Takitani is a delicate and poetic film that explores the themes of memory, grief, and solitude with a commendably steady hand. Jun Ichikawa’s direction evokes the heady and suffocating effect of the past playing irrevocable catch-up with itself, while also capturing the whimsy, irony, and melancholy of Haruki Murakami’s original story. The film may falter as a narrative, but it seeps into the soul and lingers like a cultivated orchid, a delicate product of careful attention and an appreciation for fleeting beauty. For filmgoers in search of a quietly absorbing escape, Tony Takitani might be the perfect holiday-movie antidote.
Tony Takitani is like a delicate flower that you want to keep in your pocket forever. It’s a contemplative film that explores themes of loneliness, memory, and the fleeting moments that we often take for granted. While it may not have a clear moral, it lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. Jun Ichikawa does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of Haruki Murakami’s novel, and fans of the author will definitely enjoy this adaptation. Overall, Tony Takitani is a beautiful and heartrending Japanese drama that’s perfect for a quiet night in.
Production Company(ies)
ITVS International, Kartemquin Films, P.O.V., American Documentary
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 15m
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Language(s):Japanese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 10, 2006
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Issei Ogata, Rie Miyazawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yumi Endô, Shinohara Takahumi, directed by Jun Ichikawa, written by Jun Ichikawa, Drama, Japanese language, Strand Releasing, $129.2K box office, Mono sound mix, 35mm aspect ratio, loneliness, melancholy, shopping, memory, grief, Murakami, haunting, delicate, subdued, poetic, contemplative, ethereal, fable, past, catch-up, orchid, beauty, deep matters, process, self-expression, restraint, meditation, lost moments, loneliness, masochistic deprivation
Worldwide gross: $556,268
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $847,743
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,633
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 92,447
US/Canada gross: $129,783
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $197,787
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,550
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,765
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,690
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,844
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Rie Miyazawa – Konuma Eiko, Hisako
Hidetoshi Nishijima – Narrator
Yumi Endô –
Shinohara Takahumi – Young Tony
Jun Ichikawa – Director
Director(s)
Jun Ichikawa
Writer(s)
Jun Ichikawa
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 7 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (7)
Quiet and subdued but finally heartrending, this Japanese drama by Jun Ichikawa goes bone-deep into its title character…
June 28, 2022
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Ichikawa evokes the heady and suffocating effect of the past playing irrevocable catch-up with itself.
January 14, 2006 | Rating: 2/4
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
An ethereal modern fable without a moral, Tony Takatani seeps into the soul and lingers. For filmgoers in search of a quietly absorbing escape, it might be the perfect holiday-movie antidote.
December 8, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Kristin Tillotson
Minneapolis Star Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Though it falters as a narrative, Tony Takitani sticks in the mind with its poetic contemplativeness.
November 4, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Like a cultivated orchid, the delicate product of careful attention and an appreciation for fleeting beauty.
October 21, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
The film gestures toward our understanding of deep matters — grief, solitude, and the process by which people build and express their very selves — and it does so with a commendably steady, gentle hand.
October 15, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
I struggled a bit with Tony Takitani…
December 8, 2021
Jas Keimig
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
This delicate meditation on memory and grief offers no definitive answers or resounding chords, exercising restraint as it tries to exorcise the ghosts of the past.
July 27, 2020
Katie Duggan
Film Daze
It is a very contemplative film about loneliness, memory and the priceless moments that are lost in time. [Full review in Spanish]
July 20, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Jun Ichikawa manages to capture the novel’s essence in his film to the highest degree, and in that fashion, presents a very impressive film. Particularly fans of Murakami will definitely enjoy it.
April 13, 2020
Panos Kotzathanasis
Asian Movie Pulse
Scarcely satisfies, yet it lingers — limpidity of image along with imperceptible epiphanies
September 1, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Ichikawa brilliantly captures Murakami’s blend of whimsy, irony and melancholy, while finding intelligent and inventive ways to convert the author’s verbal idiosyncrasies to a visual medium.
June 14, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5
Anton Bitel
Projected Figures…
Plot
Japanese drama follows a reclusive illustrator who falls in love with a young woman addicted to shopping for clothing.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film on Fresh Kernels.
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