I really wanted to like it - so I did. A murder mystery with a worn premise. Strange combination of 60% Japanese with subtitles and 40% English. Liked that too. Main character, Ayako Fujitani, is very good and takes a mean close-up. Very cute.People keep disappearing and identities are always in question. Nothing new, but with the conflageration of characters it was hard to follow, especially since most of the characters were Japanese. The protagonist was developed, but the antagonist could have been a whole movie.The problem was that this could easily have been a six part mini-series. There were so many characters and sub-plots, all introduced and abandoned. Each of these could have been a one or two hour episode instead of just dropped. In the end - it just ended. Then I saw the credits. 'Gofundme'. Apparently they were moving along at a brisk pace and suddenly ran out of money. 'Well, I guess that's a wrap, folks.' As the lawman stands on a dock with no visible means of escape, but the bad guy gets away anyway. Wheredidhego? After more funding? I enjoyed it anyway, just wish it had been 'finished'.

Just seen on big theatre screen. Excellent, well done suspense story, and should have had wider distribution except... 1) After the pre-title powerful open the movie drags due to far too much mostly dull character development (with a lot of just talk) that should have been cut. 2) The end goes on and on and on; the there are too many scenes that could have been handled more rapidly or the scenes cut down in length. There is a feel of a whole bunch of "false endings" before the movie finally ends. It's a shame, because this movie was definitely was ripe for much bigger theatre distribution. Still, be sure to catch it if you can, especially on a big theatre screen.

Sometimes, in order to see a good story that breaks the formula, you just have to go Indie, and these guys deserve support and they spend that extra once of energy to get it the way it should be, and not a Hollywood by number cliché film. Dave Boyle again proves he is the King of Indie film-making with a continuous run of great films. He has retained his quirky sense of humor and wrapped it into a mystery story that .. well had me guessing. I won't even suggest a spoiler here as it's worth looking up if it's coming to a theater near you, or checking it out on Netflix or whatever Service you have available to you. Props to Shiori Ideta for her stone cold delivery of my favourite line in the film, selections of credit music and a great cast that includes some fantastic Japanese actors and a script that kept me guessing. Well done to Dave and the team at Tiger. Looking forward to seeing more films in the future, you've won a fan in Australia and will continue my support for your future endeavors. Ivan Wheelwright Adelaide Australia

Director Dave Boyle is largely known for two things: character-driven comedies and an interest in (and understanding of) Japanese culture. While work such as "Big Dreams Little Tokyo" and "White on Rice" used the former to good effect, his latest film "Man From Reno" capitalizes on the latter in the context of a modern-day noir. In two separate narratives that inform one another, veteran character actor Pepe Serna and Japanese actors Auako Fujitani and Kazuki Kitamura all give career-best performances in parts that afford them time and space to do more than what's usually asked of them. Serna grounds his small-town sheriff with a matter-of-factness and dedication that hints at a great understanding of the character; Fujitani crackles with intellect as a mystery novelist a little too eager to live out an adventure similar to those about which she writes, and Kazuki Kitamura is finally given a role that acknowledges and maximizes his mischievous charm. Set and shot in the Bay Area of California, "Man From Reno" is a clever, noirish mystery that plays as part procedural, part character drama. Director Dave Boyle takes a major step out of his comfort zone with the film and the payoff is immediate. If you're a fan of snappy, believable dialogue and plot twists, this one's for you.