Change Your Image
bert_collin
Reviews
Joanna Lumley's Japan (2016)
Worth watching regardless of some inaccuracies
Having lived and travelled in Japan myself, it warms me to see Joanna traversing the land, meeting interesting people and experiencing the best of both countryside and metropolis. She seems honest in her interest for the Japanese culture and inhabitants, and treats them with respect as she visits hot springs, temples and homes of local people.
As a Japanologist, I have to add that I was slightly disturbed by some inaccuracies, minor or not. Some of the things she says in the documentary, are outright incorrect. For example, she impressively states that sake or rice wine is much, much stronger than regular wine. This is not true; although varieties of sake with alcoholic content of 30% and up exist (like the Awamori kind popular down in Okinawa) , the great majority, including the one she tries in the first episode, are between 13% and 15%, equal to or only slightly stronger than wine.
However, since the focus of this mini-series is obviously not on providing thorough and well-researched information, this doesn't influence the great imagery and experience that are central to the concept. Therefore I rate this documentary a 7 out of 10.