Tony Takitani

While on Maui years ago the popular Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami picked up a second-hand T-shirt on Maui bearing the name "Tony Takitani" for a dollar. The real Tony Takitani was a member of the state House of Representatives who made a failed run at the Senate in the early 1980s for which the T-shirts were made. For Murakami however, the name became the inspiration for a short story which has now been adapted for the big screen by director Jun Ichikawa. "Every time I put on the T-shirt, I felt like this Tony Takitani guy was begging me to write a story about him,' the author told the Daily Yomiuri prior to the film's Japan release.

The Tony Takitani of Murakami's story, played in the film by Issey Ogata, is a lonely fellow; a hikikomori isolated in his early years by the American-sounding name given to him by his jazz musician father. He makes his living as an illustrator specializing in mechanical drawings. Finally, in middle age, he seems to be on the way to happiness when he meets Eiko (played by Rie Miyazawa), a beautiful woman obsessed with designer clothing with whom he falls in love and marries. His happiness is short lived however, as after he tries to reign in her consumer passion she is killed in a car accident leaving behind a room full of expensive designer outfits

Although Murakami sells huge numbers of books in Japanese and other languages it is very rare for him to approve their adaptation to screen. The films of Jun Ichikawa, a director who cut his teeth on TV commercials, hark back to a less-is-more-style of hero Yasujiro Ozu. Ichikawa remains very true to Murakami's style and through his shooting style and the use of a low key narration throughout the film, he does a good job of preserving the sense of detachment that characterizes so much of Murakami's writing.

It seems like the real Tony Takitani, couldn't be more different from Murakami's character. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, he is a happily married father of two, who'd rather his cinematic namesake were played by Bruce Willis in an action film or comedy.

Links Official website Trailer Mark Schilling's review of Tony Takitani Read the original short story published in The New Yorker.

Tony Takitani is playing in Japanese at Salon Cinema April 9-15 and Cinetwin 2 April 16-22.