Man From RenoSuppose you meet a stranger in a bar, and you and this stranger strike up a conversation. You make small talk, exchange names, maybe more. You take a small piece of this person with you; to a small extent, they become a part of you, a memory. It's not a crime, but it is human nature. Maybe you recall a turn of phrase this person said, and later on, you make it your own in a conversation; not exactly "plagiarism", but an unconscious, disregarded appropriation of another's ideas--another's personality--as your own. But where does one cross the line between borrowing and stealing another's identity?
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Man From Reno is a mystery and a procedural thriller, following two protagonists involved in work which deals with solving crimes. First, there is the sheriff of San Marcos County, Paul Del Moral (Pepe Serna), who after investigating an abandoned town car on a foggy night in the middle of his jurisdiction, accidentally hits a Japanese man with his car, who flees from the hospital prior to the sheriff being able to question him more about his mysterious presence at the scene. And there is a renowned Japanese author of the beloved "Inspector Takabe" detective stories, Aki Akahori (Ayako Fujitani), somewhat reclusive and reluctant to engage her fans on the subject of her work. In the midst of Aki's book tour, she unexpectedly abandons her prescribed journey and returns to San Francisco, itself an important locale, a hub for Asians and Americans. She revisits friends, and inadvertently crosses paths with one of their more arrogant acquaintances, whom she engages in a tense exchange of barbs; this exchange, however, is a clue for us, as it reveals that Aki herself is keen on making swift deductions--like her literary detective--based on minute detail. And just as Aki is quick to pick up on subtle clues, attentive viewers will no doubt observe much about Aki's character from her own subtle actions, such as how she writes the detective stories she does as a means to grieve her lost lover, Kenji. But Aki suffers from melancholy--she keeps a straight razor on hand, and retreats from the public view and hides away at a hotel where she may be free from being recognized as a celebrity author. It is in the hotel bar where one night, a charming and handsome young man who calls himself Akira Suzuki (Kazuki Kitamura) buys her a drink, and presumably tries to pick her up. She makes up a story--after all, that is her craft--about being a writer for a travel website, a deception which suggests more about Aki's own reluctance to admit her attraction to the man than her desire to avoid him. One could presume that by chance, they meet again at a bookstore she claims to have worked at in her college days, and her identity is outed, which opens the door to an inevitable fling for Aki, with a man who tells her so little about himself, that she is forced to deduce characteristics about him by his word choice and behavior. But before long, Akira himself goes missing, and Aki finds herself left with the clues he has left behind. She is visited by an unsettling acquaintance of Akira's named Hitoshi Yamamoto (Hiroshi Watanabe) and is followed by a Japanese cameraman taking photos of her. All the while, Sheriff Del Moral gets his next, crucial clue to this mystery in the form of a body left out in a swamp, a clue which leads him to Aki of all people.
Man From Reno could be described as "neo-noir", a term referring to a modern presentation of a style of mystery and detective story, reminiscent of the works of authors like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, authors whose work is not unlike that of Aki Akahori. Man From Reno reminds me of at least two neo-noir films by the Coen brothers: Fargo and No Country for Old Men. As in both of those films, the story is about a pair of protagonists (one of which happens to be a sheriff), who cross paths at different intervals as they are mutually drawn into a web of criminal intrigue. Similarly, this film also happens to remind me of the television show, Murder, She Wrote, because Aki is brought into a world which she had no first-hand knowledge of before, but now finds her own literary expertise a valuable asset to defend her against the elements she must endure. Even more, Man From Reno recalls a film called Agatha, which is about the mysterious vanishing of acclaimed mystery author, Agatha Christie; Aki herself is reclusive, and is later described as the "Japanese J.D. Salinger". Aki is drawn to Akira not only because he is attractive, but because he represents an enigma to her, a mystery which puts her cunning to the test. Akira Suzuki--the name itself is a bit generic for a Japanese name, somewhat like "John Smith" would be in English. From the start, Aki knows that Akira is lying to her about something, but she doesn't exactly know why or what about in detail yet, and this is the real allure of a relationship with her man of mystery. She observes that him telling her that he smokes is the only single thing he volunteered about himself; the rest she put together. The title of the film comes from her deduction that Akira must originally be from Reno, Nevada, based on evidence about his experiences trying to park his car in San Francisco, and his likely route of travel, details which make sense for one whose profession is to surround herself with clues and seemingly trivial details for reference material. But Aki also keeps a secret herself, one which I believe gives her an edge in discovering when someone is being dishonest with her, a secret which proves to be ironic later. Man From Reno is a tale of mutable identity, stolen or otherwise appropriated...sometimes we don't even acknowledge we do it. Sometimes it is unintentional, and we leave clues behind for others to try to piece together who the real "me" actually is. Other times, it is like leaving behind a trail of bread crumbs...not just to find your way out of a labyrinth of deception, but to lead another to the center of the maze. And sometimes you need to use a smaller fish to bait a bigger one.
Recommended for: Fans of a mystery about a mystery writer and her real-life exposure to the kinds of detective stories she writes. It is also a unique tale which blends cultures and languages from across the Pacific, a film with dialogue both in Japanese and English, including moments where the language barrier and cultural component adds an extra dimension.
Man From Reno could be described as "neo-noir", a term referring to a modern presentation of a style of mystery and detective story, reminiscent of the works of authors like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, authors whose work is not unlike that of Aki Akahori. Man From Reno reminds me of at least two neo-noir films by the Coen brothers: Fargo and No Country for Old Men. As in both of those films, the story is about a pair of protagonists (one of which happens to be a sheriff), who cross paths at different intervals as they are mutually drawn into a web of criminal intrigue. Similarly, this film also happens to remind me of the television show, Murder, She Wrote, because Aki is brought into a world which she had no first-hand knowledge of before, but now finds her own literary expertise a valuable asset to defend her against the elements she must endure. Even more, Man From Reno recalls a film called Agatha, which is about the mysterious vanishing of acclaimed mystery author, Agatha Christie; Aki herself is reclusive, and is later described as the "Japanese J.D. Salinger". Aki is drawn to Akira not only because he is attractive, but because he represents an enigma to her, a mystery which puts her cunning to the test. Akira Suzuki--the name itself is a bit generic for a Japanese name, somewhat like "John Smith" would be in English. From the start, Aki knows that Akira is lying to her about something, but she doesn't exactly know why or what about in detail yet, and this is the real allure of a relationship with her man of mystery. She observes that him telling her that he smokes is the only single thing he volunteered about himself; the rest she put together. The title of the film comes from her deduction that Akira must originally be from Reno, Nevada, based on evidence about his experiences trying to park his car in San Francisco, and his likely route of travel, details which make sense for one whose profession is to surround herself with clues and seemingly trivial details for reference material. But Aki also keeps a secret herself, one which I believe gives her an edge in discovering when someone is being dishonest with her, a secret which proves to be ironic later. Man From Reno is a tale of mutable identity, stolen or otherwise appropriated...sometimes we don't even acknowledge we do it. Sometimes it is unintentional, and we leave clues behind for others to try to piece together who the real "me" actually is. Other times, it is like leaving behind a trail of bread crumbs...not just to find your way out of a labyrinth of deception, but to lead another to the center of the maze. And sometimes you need to use a smaller fish to bait a bigger one.
Recommended for: Fans of a mystery about a mystery writer and her real-life exposure to the kinds of detective stories she writes. It is also a unique tale which blends cultures and languages from across the Pacific, a film with dialogue both in Japanese and English, including moments where the language barrier and cultural component adds an extra dimension.