Though I haven't seen a lot of John Casavetes' work, apart from<br /><br />that, this is one of the best modern (read: 1985-present) uses of<br /><br />8mm film that I've ever seen. This is one of those films you just<br /><br />have to throw yourself into. I'm not drawing a parallel between the<br /><br />two--at all!--but people who have seen 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'<br /><br />will recall how by the end of the first episode you had no idea what<br /><br />was going on, right alongside the principle character. This movie<br /><br />has a similar feel--It's unsettling at first, but ultimately presents<br /><br />itself as a curiously wonderful juxtaposition of warmth and<br /><br />coldness; interrelation and alienation. Very few films are capable<br /><br />of doing this well. Oh, and as a side note -- this is NOT one of<br /><br />those aimlessly meandering art films hell-bent on using 8mm to<br /><br />generate indie/underground credibility. In sum: a thoughtfully <br /><br />rewarding film about two very different German brothers lost in<br /><br />Japan and discovering a fine gray line dividing the point of no<br /><br />return from the point just before it and overcoming that dualism.