A well-intentioned story with a troubling execution.
Being a caretaker for a loved one and requiring loved ones to be caretakers is often a complicated situation for everyone involved, and "Shakespeare In Tokyo" does its best to approach this situation from both sides. The goal of this short film is to promote understanding and a different perspective on life, and it does largely succeed despite some clunky moralizing along the way.A lot of Ben's interactions with the people he meets in Tokyo are very wholesome and offer several sweet demonstrations that art and literature connect people around the world, but two scenes in particular pulled me out of the sentimental bonding moment they were setting up.
I really didn't like the way Ben inserts himself into situations with women who very politely tell him that they would prefer to be alone, ignores their requests, and uses Shakespeare's words to explain their careers, their problems, and their lives to them. The seemingly well-intentioned writing frames this as charming because of his Down Syndrome, focusing on the way people transcend cultural and personal barriers to relate to each other, but the fact that I have been in situations like this with strangers who made me feel unsafe when they crossed my boundaries (especially with physical touch) made it hard for me to relax or find it as sweet as others have.
Overall, this movie asks us to live our lives to the fullest and be more understanding of each other - so if you're searching for media about people with disabilities just living their lives, you may want to consider adding this to your watchlist.
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