Western Australia’s expansive Pilbara desert serves as the backdrop for this engaging, near-mythic road tale. The remote region, beautifully photographed, is indeed a third character, with an edgy, blazing presence that could easily overwhelm lesser on-screen talents than Toni Collette ("The Hours" and "About a Boy") and Gotaro Tsunashima.

Sandy Edwards (Collette) is an impatient, career-oriented geologist, given to eating sandwiches and soup from a pot for dinner. Tachibana Hiromitsu (Tsunashima) is a Japanese businessman that holds the key to a big deal for Sandy’s company. She is assigned to show him around the outback and explain the geological phenomena of the area. It’s obvious that he is just as unhappy with the arrangement as she is. He is meticulous in his affairs and is put off by Sandy’s casualness and crassness.

"Japanese Story" begins as an entertaining examination of two cultures, told from the one-sided perspective of each character. It evolves, through the complexity of their situation and relationship, into a love story of enormous gravity. What awaits these two in the desolate landscape of the Pilbara is not unlike the self-isolation each of them has created for themselves in their lives. Scriptwriter Alison Tilson says, "Hiromitsu has lost his capacity for joy." I would add, so too has Sandy. Tilson goes on to say that Hiromitsu has come to this strange new place with "…hopes to rediscover something of himself." The actor, Gotaro Tsunashima, fully embodies Hiromitsu, from his cool, uncommunicative stance at first seeing him, through his unfolding in the intense heat of the desert.

An interesting camera shot and editing, not far into the film, slows the movement of their vehicle on the highway, then speeds it up and allows us to see these two disparate souls dash headlong into the unexplored. Subtle changes in the tone of the story begin to occur also.

Toni Collettes’s portrayal of Sandy is inspired, as she develops from an irritated, glorified tour guide, into an aggressive lover, who ultimately becomes a vulnerable, compassionate witness. Throughout, Collette maintains a raw energy ¾ evident in most of her performances ¾ that transcends all her character’s moods.

The appearance of Hiromitsu’s wife, Yukiko, and her meeting with Sandy, late in the film, offers us a lingering look at who these three people are, including Yukiko, though her presence is brief, it is crucial.

"Japanese Story" is not only an exploration of Australia’s outback, but of the space between us as humans as well. It’s well worth the journey.