Only read if you've seen the movie first! So there are plenty of reviews on this film, but no explanations, so mine will be the latter. Overall I thought this was a fantastic, yet confusing film that you need to watch twice. However, after my second time watching it makes clear sense.Spoiler starts here: Key to the movie is the guy in hotel at beginning kills people and steals their identity. I'll call him mystery man.Akira Suzuki was the man found dead in the Pond. He had the real turtles, him and his girlfriend, who got caught in customs, were trying to sell them. The Chauffeur driver (Hitoshi) - also called the running man, tried to buy the turtles from Akira Suzuki for the wheelchair man (Steven Luft), so he could use them to cure himself, but at the drop it was really the mystery man who had heard about the sale and wanted to make a quick buck, he had Suzuki's half of the turtles after killing him and then bought regular turtles to complete the other half. The Chauffeur was going to offer fake passports for turtles so turtle seller could get a new life (the real Akira Suzuki and his girlfriend in jail - she said this was their last job), but when the impostor showed up to the drop he wanted money, because passports were useless to him. So he roughed up the chauffeur driver and said he wanted $1 mil and that's when the sheriff found him. Mystery man Left ordinary turtles in room as a distraction so that they would go after Aki instead, while he got rid of other 5 turtles. Osamu is also a fake name of some guy who disappeared in Japan that mystery man pretended to be.At the end mystery man kills Aki and steals her identity And publishes her final book, which will have great sales now that she has gone rogue - and he is free to make the profit (hence the more interesting way to make profit that he mentioned to wheelchair man. After he told him that he let the turtles go in the river). When Aki pepper sprays the paparazzi guy he says the picture of the red boat house is home. At the end sheriff finds mystery man on the red boat because he killed the paparazzi guy when he came to Aki's room. Then he added that to his long list of fake lives. The Sheriff found his mystery man on accident because he was looking for paparazzi guy to ask if he knew where Aki went. At the end of the movie when mystery man meets the guy in a bar who just passed his bar exam he says his name is also Junya which is foreshadowing he's going to kill him and take his identity.

This is an exceptional piece of cinema in ways obvious and not so obvious.It can be especially appreciated by native Californians, although that's not necessarily a prerequisite to enjoy the film.The plot captures your interest from the opening scenes of a driver carefully navigating his way through fog on a lonely road, but hitting a pedestrian in spite of his caution. To the surprise of both the audience and the driver, who stops and gets out of the car to assist, the victim gets up and runs away, disappearing into the fog.True to the film noir tradition, this is just the first in a whole series of mysterious occurrences, some of which are eventually resolved, and some which are not. This keeps the viewer guessing not only during the film, but after he/she leaves the theater. Your attention is focused all during the film, although a few of the less important plot points are so convoluted, you never do figure them out.Never mind, there is great beauty in the film, thanks to carefully thought out direction by Dave Boyle and the extraordinary skill of the cinematographer, Richard Wong. In shot after shot, the collaboration of the director and his cinematographer results in images perfectly composed. The cinematographer, who is based in San Francisco, obviously has a great feeling and appreciation for both interiors and exteriors of this exceptional city. Even more impressive to this native Californian is his feel for the state's subtle beauty outside of its famous urban areas.There are the icons familiar to all: San Francisco's Victorian architecture, fascinating waterfront, hilly skyline and impressive bridges. Less familiar are the sparsely-populated areas of the California countryside, with rolling hills, winding roads, and occasional trees. The muted color palette and quiet beauty in these areas of the state may not have the majesty and impact of San Francisco or Yosemite, but they can have their own unique appeal just the same. It's obvious that the cinematographer and director understand this and wisely included some of these kinds of scenes in their opus.They also maximize the beauty of their lead actress, Ayako Fugitani, not only with the cinematography, but also in collaboration with the individual responsible for her elegant attire, costume designer Irene Chan. Ms. Fugitani's affluent chic look is evidence that great care and thought went into in how she was to be presented. And of course her expert hairstyling and make up work was icing on the cake. My guess is that she has never looked better since she began her acting career two decades ago.Welcome also is the humanity of the portrayal of the sheriff by veteran actor Pepe Sema. His sincerity and smooth professionalism – over 40 years as an actor - is reflected in his work in this film.Also admirable - and unusual - is the attempt to accurately portray two complete different cultures, Japanese and American, in the same film without relying on stereotypes or preconceived ideas that the audience might have. The director's previous work has involved having a foot in both cultures, and this film demonstrates how well he has honed his expertise.Speaking of expertise, the film, which was shot digitally on a modest budget, but doesn't look like it, is a terrific example of how today it is possible to make a film with superb production values because excellent tools are more accessible than they ever have been in history of filmmaking. You don't need a studio and the associated overhead. The tools for capture - cameras, lenses, and lighting - are so good and so portable, they can literally be used anywhere under any conditions. And you can work with minimal crew, which minimizes the risk of disruption when working on location.It's the same story with post-production, where filmmakers spend far more time refining their story than they spent shooting it. The editing capability of the computers and software available today is phenomenal, even if you only have a modest budget. Just ask the director, who has been editing professionally for years.The film noir efforts of 70 years ago still stand up well when it comes to the storyline, but when it comes to the production values . . . well, you really appreciate all the progress that has been made since. "Man from Reno" is a superb example of that progress.I look forward to seeing more work from this director and his team of very talented collaborators.

"Planet of the Apes", with more than half its dialog sub-titled, found wide distribution, but this excellent crime thriller, with half its dialog subtitled, is not distributed. Do fictional ape grunts yield more marketable subtitles than real Japanese? It is rare indeed to find a movie in which Japanese culture is showcased so well as in this bilingual movie set in the Bay area. American audiences should be allowed to see more such films. The last Japanese-language movie (in my memory anyway) was "Shall We Dance?" Of course, the bad remake with Richard Gere lost all the cultural resonance which made it so special.In most of movies of the crime thriller genre, it is relatively easy to identify the bad guy, know who is going to die, and anticipate the plot twists---or at least, not be too surprised by them. Such is not the case in this movie---everything about the plot is genuinely surprising and unusual. Mostly, this is because so many of the characters are Japanese; in a foreign land, they flummox not only themselves, but the American law enforcement officers trying to figure things out. The cross-cultural aspect of this movie is precisely what makes it so unpredictable and so good.American distributors should pick up more movies like this, and market them at least as well as "planet of the apes."

An expertly crafted throwback to film noir with the unique twist of being dual language. I was fortunate enough to see this during the LA Film Fest and immensely enjoyed following the twists and turns of the story. It begins with an enigmatic man and separately, a crime fiction novelist that seemingly have nothing to do with each other and only deepen into other mysteries as the film progresses. Hidden secrets about the characters come to light and slowly the two stories begin to interweave with each other. Well written, directed and acted it was definitely a stand out on the film festival circuit and the location of San Francisco serves as another character within the film.