As the film opens, the two siblings are wandering through Littlerock’s empty fields. They decide to take a room at a cheap hotel. A party next door keeps them from sleeping. When Rintaro goes next door to ask them to keep it down, he finds himself, and his sister almost immediately accepted by the partiers. Despite the obvious language barrier, Atsuko feels right at home in Littlerock. She enjoys spending time with flighty aspiring model/actor Cory (Cory Zacharia), who has fallen head-over-heels in love with her. Meanwhile, Atsuko finds herself attracted to Cory’s friend, Jordan (Brett L. Tinnes). None of these guys are like anyone she knows back in Japan. Cory appears as clueless as his new non-English speaking friends, especially when it comes to his dealings with a local drug dealer who’s becoming weary of his inability to pay off a debt.
It’s not surprising that Atsuko and Rintaro, foreigners in a strange land, are so readily accepted into this group of small town youths that feel disenfranchised. When their rental car is fixed, Atsuko decides to stay in Littlerock, while Rintaro continues on to San Francisco. Atsuko spends the next few days staying with Cory in a spare room, while fully immersing herself into the soul of Littlerock. Because she is unable to speak or understand English, Atsuko and her friends must express themselves through facial, eye, and hand expressions.
Ott wisely gives viewers the opportunity to experience Atsuko’s world by utilizing subtitles when she speaks to her brother, and not when communicating with her English-speaking friends. It’s interesting to watch the ways in which people can connect if they really want to understand each other.
Littlerock is a character-driven story about the people who touch our lives in important and unexpected ways. The characters are memorable and beautifully written. Highly recommended.
Presented in 1080p high definition and a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Littlerock has been given a nice transfer. The image looks clean and free of artifacts or compression issues. Colors are fairly vibrant and consistent save for a few low-light scenes that appear a bit dark.
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is similarly strong, featuring clean dialogue, gently immersive use of the surrounds and excellent clarity during the film’s musical moments.
The following special features are available:
- Audio Commentary: Director Mike Ott, Cory Zacharia, and Atsuko Okatsuka spend this track drinking and getting high off whippets– inhaling nitrous oxide–so there’s not much to be learned here.
- Deleted Scenes (1080p, 8:56)
- Trailer (1080p, 1:49)
- Screen Tests (SD, 15:28)
- Festival Promos (SD, 3:33)
- Stills Gallery (1080p)
