Tony Takitani

Aroview: A small jewel of a drama, based on a story by Haruki Murakami, about a lonely illustrator (Ogata) who meets the woman of his dreams, only later discovering she has a serious shopping compulsion which leads her to accumulate an overflowing wardrobe of expensive couture.

Shot with a distilled precision and elegance, dir. Ichikawa nudges the tone into dark satire at times, but finally opts for a sparse and beguiling sense of pathos as the lead character faces the consequences of his desires and habits of mind. The minimalist score is by Ryuichi Sakmoto.