Ms. Brooks's film, a stretched-out short story about cultural misunderstanding set against the natural sublimity of the Australian wilderness, obligingly provides Ms. Collette with an opportunity to display her range. She plays Sandy, an ambitious and self-sufficient geologist sent to a remote desert surface mine to meet a visiting Japanese businessman named Tachibana Hiromitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima), who mistakes her for his driver and treats her accordingly, standing beside his enormous suitcase and waiting for her to load it into a rented Toyota S.U.V. Mr. Hiromitsu (it takes her a long time to discover his first name) is at first chilly and imperious. With his dark blue suit and crisp white shirt, he cuts an awkward figure among the Australians, with their relaxed manner and khaki shorts.
It's also awkward when the NY Times mistakes a Japanese first name (Hiromitsu) for a last name (Tachibana.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/16/movies/16JAPA.html?ex=1074834000&en=a6e61956f38340ae&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
