Last night I watched The Brothers Bloom, about a pair of con men brothers working their last con. I enjoy caper movies, and this did not dissapoint. It's also not hard to enjoy great actors such as Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, and Adrien Brody. However, the actor that stood out to me was Rinko Kikuchi in the role of Bang Bang, obviously the least high profile (in this country) of the actors.Kikuchi was able to set the mood and style of the movie perfectly and was responsible for most of the humor throughout the film. And she did all of this with virtually no dialogue. There are a few moments that stand out in my mind, one of which being when Bang Bang and Stephen (Ruffalo) are watching Bloom (Brody) ride a bike precariously into the path of the mark, Penelope (Weisz), and they hold up score cards to indicate his form. Bang Bang adjusts her cards as the scene becomes further complicated. It's funnier than my explanation could ever be.
When the credits rolled I recognized her name, but could not place her. I realized then that she was in the ensemble cast of Babel, another excellent turn by this Japanese actress. She was nominated for an Oscar for this role in which she played a deaf daughter trying to get the attention of her emotionally absent father. Once again, no dialogue for Kikuchi.
It seems she should seek out parts that do not require her to speak . . .
The Brothers Bloom Find it in the catalog!
Babel Find it in the catalog!
