Every day, Jay travels the length and breadth of Tokyo in his taxi, looking for his daughter Lily. In the 9 years since he has separated from his wife, he has never been able to get custody of his daughter. Having given up hope of ever seeing her again, he is about to move back to France when Lily hops in his cab. But she doesn't recognize him.
Acting
Duris does everything with his jaw. Mei Cirne-Masuki's silence speaks volumes.
Cinematography
Tokyo as liminal space—neon, rain, endless roads to nowhere.
Direction
Senez lets scenes breathe until you want to scream.
Director
Guillaume Senez
Romain Duris
Jay
Mei Cirne-Masuki
Lily
Judith Chemla
Jessica
Tsuyu Shimizu
Michiko
Shungicu Uchida
Lily's grandmother
Yumi Narita
Keiko Nomura, mother of Lily
Patrick Descamps
Jay's father
Shinnosuke Abe
Yu
Morio Agata
Mr. Uchishiba
Toshihiro Yashiba
Honda
Eriko Takeda
Eriko
Masayuki Shida
Takashima, the manager
Hajime Inoue
The prosecutor
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Romain Duris learned basic Japanese and spent weeks driving actual Tokyo taxis in character. The production couldn't get permits for many locations, so several scenes are genuinely illegal shoots.
The film subtly critiques Japan's 1980 Hague Convention non-compliance regarding international child abduction—Jay's legal impotence mirrors real cases of foreign parents permanently separated from children in Japan.
BE
JP
