STARFISH HOTEL is a film with bags of atmosphere but little to no story to support it. It's one of those style-over-substance movies that works hard to build a sense of foreboding and mystery, but when it comes down to it it's a complete waste of time for viewers looking for concrete plotting and actual answers.There are some things I liked about this film; the cinematography isn't half bad, with the shadowy set locations bringing to mind the noirish likes of DARK CITY, and I love the use of the haunting piano music as part of the film's score. That's where the good stuff ends, though. The story involves Koichi Sato (INFECTION) who goes on a hunt for his missing wife and becomes involved in the strange world of a mystery writer and his creations.There are plot elements borrowed from the likes of DONNIE DARKO and other movies, but it all adds up to a very insignificant storyline when it boils down to it, and you do wonder why you wasted the time watching it. That's because STARFISH HOTEL is a timewaster, nothing more.

Koichi Sato gets all the best parts. He gets it on with two great women in this film. And no doubt he was paid well for the privilege, too... Kiki is new to me, but I'll be looking out for her from now on. Nobody has ever worn a red silk negligee so well. The woman has legs that go on forever, as one great shot reveals when she runs her toes down Sato's back. Tae Kimura's sweet beauty contrasts well with the hot sensuality of Kiki, the Ziyi Zhang compared to Kiki's Li Gong. In one scene they both wear kimono, and Tae wins that round on points - Kiki looks better undressed. The story, about a guy torn between the comfort of a beautiful wife and the passion of a young lover, is told in flashbacks, slowly revealing a more sinister side to the events that begin to plague Sato's Arisu. The plotting keeps you guessing till the very end - beyond that, in fact. Lush and sensuous, tragic and beautiful, Starfish Hotel is a feast for the senses - and a treat for fans of eye candy.

I don't agree with the comment I just read about this film, because I felt that this movie had indeed something very original, even if the similarities to other movies is obvious. Director Williams pointed out that he hadn't seen Donnie Darko before writing this script, so we just believe him or we don't. He certainly uses locations, aspects from other movies or books, but "Starfish Hotel" is still a fascinating experience.It reminded me of watching Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" for the first time. I didn't really understand the film as a whole, but just felt that it isn't just random weirdness. You really get the feeling that there is a certain sense behind every scene and you start thinking about it a lot. Is it all shown in the correct chronological order? Is it all reality or is it partly a dream? Is maybe everything just in the head of this novel writer who we see from time to time? Yet while watching the movie I had different theories and I believe that I would appreciate this movie more, watching it a second time in the future. Just like "Mulholland Drive", which I believed to understand after watching it the third or fourth time. The problem is that I probably will not have the possibility to watch "Starfish Hotel" a second time if it's not discovered as a worthy movie for releasing it on DVD.Maybe I'm just wrong. Maybe it's just random weirdness and completely stolen from other movies and books, but I just had the feeling it was not. I know a lot of similar movies that are just weird and nothing else and I'm not thinking about them anymore after leaving the cinema. "Starfish Hotel" is not one of them. I thought about it a lot after watching it and are still thinking about it. It is definitely worth a look if you look these kind of movies.

I'd like to wear my bias on my sleeve as much as John Williams wears his influences on his: I love the novels of Haruki Murakami, and it seems John Williams does as well. I like to think of this film as the most faithful adaptation of Murakami I could imagine. Even though it copies no story he wrote, it captures his writing style perfectly.It appears that have the privilege of being one of the first audiences to see this at the Sydney Film Festival, and I highly encourage everyone to go out and see this. The story is so beautifully simplistic: a man has an affair two years ago, and after hiring a detective who discovered this, his wife disappears without a trace. With the "help" of a strange man in a rabbit suit (one that would look very at home in Donnie Darko) he is lead to a brothel, to a detective, and to his memories of his affair in Starfish Hotel, his usual haunt for business trips that soon become very personal. What I enjoyed most about this film was the steady pace, which was controlled beautifully by director John Williams. Much like in Murakami's novels, he allowed his characters to really show the complexity of their feelings. Koichi Sato gave a wonderful performance as the abandoned husband. Just like in a Murakami novel, he begins by being in a state of shock that could easily appear to be disinterest, but he portrays the character as was intended: as a man so shocked and confused by the events. As the film progresses this behaviour is interjected with periods of concern and action as he traces the path of his wife. The two female leads played their roles wonderfully, though I would have liked to have seen Tae Kimura play a larger role, I think she played the scorned, but concerned and quietly vengeful wife very well. Kiki as Arisu's love interest never missed a step nor gave away a trick in the movie. Her gazes were so complex and mysterious at times, and sensual and passionate at others. The runaway performance was Akira Emoto as Mr Trickster, the deranged and possibly dangerous rabbit-suited brochure man. He was comical and terrifying without being silly, and it every scene he was in was genuinely disturbing.The best feature of this movie was the atmosphere. It really played out just like the psychological thrillers mentioned so much in the film. The romances are always tinged with a sense of tragedy and mystery, and the rest of the film is just downright disturbing. Seeing Mr Trickster getting more and more deformed during the film added a bit of horror without falling into cheap shock. But the best part were the incredible settings. The Hotel Starfish, Wonderland (formed and burnt), the mine and even Arisu's house were all hauntingly portrayed. What I enjoyed most about this film is that it didn't pull any punches. It knew that it was esoteric (from the perspective of understanding rather than enjoyment), and it knew that it wouldn't pander to people who like to tune out during films, but most bravely, it never really made sense for people that were paying attention throughout the entire film. At the end there were so many interpretations possible that it keeps even the most attentive viewer thinking about the events for days afterwards. I very much liked that the film didn't make sense in that way, and I think the experience was all the richer for it.