Yeah, I think you're mostly right. When I was first scribbling, I hadn't included her as an expat; I didn't even refer to her. I guess I felt like I should later only because she and her husband are on a stay which as far as I can tell, is more than a week. Certainly, it's for work, not holiday.
Just two nights ago, I had a chat with a friend who recently finished a two year stint teaching in Japan. Her reaction to the film was reminiscent of yours in that she was critical of the lack of engagement with Japan outside of the hotel and a few other locales. For what it's worth, I said to her that to have done otherwise would have been to undermine the foundation of the narrative. It wouldn't have been that film anymore; it would have been a different film, and I love it for the film that it is, not the film it should have been.
Have you seen Chris Marker's "Sans Soleil?"
Thanks for the note!
"She was a tourist who spent most of her time in her room pitying herself and overlooking a wonderful opportunity to experience one of the greatest cities and cultures in the world. The times she did venture out, her hand was held by another fraidie cat American. What's so scary and terrible about Japan anayway? Hit the streets baby!"
What's so scary about Japan is that Charlotte found herself in a new country with a new husband, newly graduated and fiercely uncertain about her future and her bearings in the world, that's what was so scary about Japan. She happened to discover "another fraidie cat American" whom she could confide in and trust for a few brief days, probably because they both knew it was only for a few brief days, and she was able to establish a true connection with another human being. However ephemeral that connection was, they are so very rare and so very precious, that they are incredibly meaningful. They would not have been able to share that had they been in America; it was the combination of a foreigner's sense of aloneness and vulnerability, and diffidence in general, that enabled it. It was only because they were in "scary Japan" did that happen. A pity you've never felt any of that before.
I wouldn't consider precious Charlotte an expat. She was a tourist who spent most of her time in her room pitying herself and overlooking a wonderful opportunity to experience one of the greatest cities and cultures in the world. The times she did venture out, her hand was held by another fraidie cat American. What's so scary and terrible about Japan anayway? Hit the streets baby!