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Fear and Trembling

Play trailer Poster for Fear and Trembling 2003 1h 47m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After spending part of her childhood in Japan, Amelie (Sylvie Testud) goes back after graduating from college to work as an interpreter at a corporation. The male executives treat her poorly, but she has a good relationship with Fubuki (Kaori Tsuji), her immediate supervisor. Unfortunately, Amelie sets herself up for a fall when she shows that despite being from Europe, she is adept at the Japanese language. Viewed as lacking in proper humility, her co-workers conspire to put her in her place.
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Fear and Trembling

Fear and Trembling

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Critics Consensus

This tale of culture clash is by turns downbeat and hilarious.

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Critics Reviews

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G. Allen Johnson San Francisco Chronicle Aug 5, 2005
4/4
The best office comedy since Office Space. Go to Full Review Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune Jun 24, 2005
3/4
One of the screen's most cuttingly funny looks at office life. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jun 24, 2005
3/4
... subtly sexual and erotic, despite the fact that every scene takes place in the office and there is not a single overt sexual act or word or gesture or reference. Go to Full Review Brian Mckay eFilmCritic.com Jan 20, 2010
4/5
Kam Williams Sly Fox Aug 1, 2007
1/4
A clean S&M flick which only devotees of mental cruelty are likely to find satisfying. Office Space, Japanese Style! Go to Full Review Don Willmott Filmcritic.com Dec 14, 2005
4/5
a bravura performance in a memorable film. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David D @RT05618620 Aug 23, 2026 Unfunny comedy, badly adapted from a novel where the protagonist -a western woman aiming to work in a Japanese firm as a craving for her childhood days in Japan- suffers all sorts of humilliations until she is eventually demoted to the role of toilet cleaner. There is hardly any beauty in the filming and the script is extremely lazy, plagued with narrated segments, never capable of turning a novel into film. Only the actresses save the day. Not worth your time. See more Jul 8, 2019 This movie is complete ass, I do not know how it is anywhere close to 91%, I would have been surprised if it even got a 50%. Take this garbage off of this site. Please and thank you! See more Jan 24, 2015 Adaptation plutot reussie a une seule condition : avoir lu le livre du meme nom auparavant. See more Aug 5, 2013 Some cracking lines, like 'My hand felt clumsy like it was buried in mashed potato' yet it did not manage to keep up with other French comedies in its quirkiness. See more Feb 2, 2013 (February 2013) I would be biased since I am Japanese. Definitely capturing some aspects of Japanese companies which look irrational or unreasonable for non-Japanese, but the movie is taking it way too far the story looks a bit stupid I think. See more Jan 14, 2013 Funny, mad but utterly unique! One of the best "battle of wits" films I've ever seen. See more Read all reviews
Fear and Trembling

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Cast & Crew

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Alain Corneau

Director

Sylvie Testud

Amélie

Kaori Tsuji

Fubuki

Taro Suwa

Monsieur Saito

Bison Katayama

Monsieur Omochi

Yasunari Kondo

Monsieur Tenshi
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Fear and Trembling

Fear and Trembling (2003) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After spending part of her childhood in Japan, Amelie (Sylvie Testud) goes back after graduating from college to work as an interpreter at a corporation. The male executives treat her poorly, but she has a good relationship with Fubuki (Kaori Tsuji), her immediate supervisor. Unfortunately, Amelie sets herself up for a fall when she shows that despite being from Europe, she is adept at the Japanese language. Viewed as lacking in proper humility, her co-workers conspire to put her in her place.
Director
Alain Corneau
Producer
Alain Sarde
Screenwriter
Alain Corneau
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 47m
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