Review: One Night in Tokyo

30 April, 2025 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 2 categories

Title: One Night in Tokyo
MPA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Joshua Woodcock
Starring: Tokiko Kitagawa, Reza Emamiyeh, Shinichiro Watanabe
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

What It Is: Sam (Emamiyeh) has traveled all the way to Japan for his girlfriend, Becca (Cailee Oliver). When Becca betrays him with his friend Jun (Watanabe), Sam isn’t the only one left heartbroken. Jun’s girlfriend, Ayaka, also stumbles upon the affair. Neither Sam nor Ayaka knows that it’s the other’s partner who has hurt them. Now, it will be a night spent traveling around Tokyo, as strangers become something more. Two people left to question love and life—almost lovers, aligned by fate and forged by betrayal.

What We Think: There are echoes here of great films that came before it—a little Lost in Translation, a little Before Trilogy. It’s a wonderful mix of influences that all coalesce under Joshua Woodcock’s deft hand behind the lens. Tokyo, from what I’ve seen, is a gorgeous city, and Woodcock does a phenomenal job of making it look even more stunning. When night falls on Japan’s capital, everything takes on a new character. Watanabe and Emamiyeh share electric chemistry, even with the obvious language barrier.

Our Grade: B+, A beautifully crafted romance, directed by a filmmaker I’m excited to see more from. Check out our interview with him and his amazing cast below. If you’d like to watch the film, just click the link courtesy of JustWatch.

I loved this film. It feels like the kind of story destined to become a romantic cult classic—one we’ll still be talking about two decades from now, just as we do with the clear inspirations behind it. I love films that truly understand the human experience—ones that highlight the perseverance of the human spirit and recognize that love often appears in the most unexpected places.