Production
A dejected woman finds an unconscious man resembling her former dog and takes him in as a "pet", forming an unexpected bond as they overcome obstacles together, raising the question of whether such love can exist.
Haruko Takanashi is 30. She works at a radio station. She is approaching middle management where good looks alone aren't enough. She isn't very romantic so she devotes herself to work and play and suddenly finds herself alone. Just when she has given up on romance she meets a man. She meets him at a party to which she was taken by a subordinate at work. He is 25-year-old Ichiro Kashiwakura and is nothing out of the ordinary. They start a relationship. One day, out of the blue, Ichiro ardently proposes to Haruko. Realizing that he really loves her, Haruko says yes and they get married. But she still hasn't told him her real age.
A short, direct and to-the-point media-commentary thriller. A sleazy TV producer trying to exploit a quiet otaku (an obsessive hobbyist) whose hobby is electronic eavesdropping ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for when they eavesdrop on the wrong conversation and he prods said otaku into helping him "investigate" the lead, only to find out that some things (and people) are not always as they seem, when a minor altercation causes things to take a rather nasty turn....
The five characters are cut into various "twos" and the restrained direction accurately conveys their emotions and relationships. The tension in the long shots in particular could be described as "expertly delicate". The meal scenes, which appear repeatedly, play an excellent role in accentuating the question of the meaning of 'family'.
