With a mostly-original plot and extremely diverse cast, Wasabi pulled me in, and I can't stop talking about it! The subtle humor packed into the entire feature kept me chuckling the whole way. What's kinda weird about this movie is that it's supposed to be spoken in French, although it's set in Japan (mostly), and you can dub it with English or use English subtitles. I don't know...maybe it's just me... Anyway, this movie focuses on the strong, troublemaking Hubert Fiorentini (Jean Reno), a broken-hearted, middle-aged man who's single. He doesn't trust women anymore because while spending eight months in Japan (on some sort of intelligence mission), he met a woman named Miko Kobayashi (Yuki Sakai). After falling deeply in love with her, she vanished without a trace. Miserable, Hubert returned to France and worked as a policeman (with questionable policies). Nineteen years later (when the movie starts), Hubert receives a phone call from a man in Japan saying that Miko has been located in the morgue, and has left only Hubert in her will. Upon arriving in Japan for Miko's cremation, Hubert is surprised yet again when he discovers that he has a nineteen-year-old daughter! Once calmed down, he also finds that his daughter, Yumi Yoshimido (Ryoko Hirosue), hates not only the police, but she wants to kill father (who she has never met, considering Hubert didn't know she existed)! Her mother had told her that her father had raped and abandoned her, so Yumi claims she will try to hire assassins to find the man (Hubert) when she is older. Because he doesn't want his daughter to murder him in his sleep, Hubert decides not to tell Yumi about himself, he's just a friend. However, things turn sour when a group of mysterious men with dark sunglasses are found stalking Yumi (without Yumi knowing). It appears that everything isn't what it seems... find out what happens when you see this movie for yourself; I command you! I loved the comedy relief performance by Michel Muller, who plays Hubert's old friend 'Momo.' The verbal irony and gags in this movie won't make you double over laughing, but they're enough to keep you paying attention and not looking away from the action. So, there is some sex-oriented stuff in this film, and I don't think it's for kids. There is some violence, but it's very comical; when a guy gets shot, he literally goes flying (funny, aye?). There are also some trannie [transvestite] robbers in the opening of the film... don't know if you'll laugh or be offended... The bottom line is: I enjoyed this movie, so will you; buy this movie!
