In the 2004 rom-com classic Love Actually, one of the storylines follows recently cuckolded Colin Firth as he falls in love with Aurelia, a young Portuguese woman he’s hired to clean his cottage in the French countryside. Much of the charm and tension comes from their obvious attraction, despite not speaking each other’s language. Of course, in the end, he learns Portuguese to declare his love, and—surprise!—she’s been learning English to do the same. Kenichi Unaga’s offbeat but utterly charming I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn operates on a similar premise: a fish-out-of-water fairytale that transcends language and offers a sweet, simple insight into the nature of human connection.
Shina has everything: the hot boyfriend, the access to the glitz and glamour of the Japanese movie industry, the iconic status of a movie star. But she’s lost something—some spark—and is feeling increasingly numb and apathetic toward the industry. When her boyfriend breaks up with her on the first day of their trip to NYC, Shina is left without a phone, a wallet, or any English-speaking skills. Things seem bleak… until she meets Jack, a young Brooklyn filmmaker whose passion for cinema far exceeds his filmmaking ability—but whose boundless charm and energy more than make up for it. Soon, despite him speaking no Japanese and her speaking no English, the two connect in a way that transcends language, and Shina finds herself in a whirlwind romance for the ages.
This film is adorable. The chemistry between Estevan Munoz and Ui Mihara as Jack and Shina crackles from start to finish. Mihara imbues Shina with a vulnerability that gradually emerges over the course of the film, evolving from an aloof, icy screen queen into someone comfortable being herself among the underdogs of the industry. Munoz’s Jack is fascinating—the kind of person you could listen to talk about anything because their passion is so contagious. He’s the perfect stranger to meet at a bar and spend hours with, nursing drinks while he gushes about his favorite movies—films you may not have seen but will almost certainly seek out after hearing him describe them.
I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn feels like an early Kevin Smith project turned up to eleven—telling a tender, human story while also quietly celebrating the DIY aesthetic that Smith championed in his early career. It is, for lack of a better phrase, punk as fuck. And not just because many of the characters are from the punk scene, but because it feels like a movie anyone could make—born from a passion so fierce it bulldozes past technical limitations. Much like the members of Joy Division deciding to start a band after seeing the Sex Pistols—despite not knowing how to play their instruments—I Fell in Love… is both a love letter to the unstoppable creative drive of aspiring filmmakers and an ode to love that refuses to be hindered by a language barrier. It is, in short, about passion—and all the beautiful things that can happen when you let passion lead the way.
