A hang up or two...

I'm curious about how people who are unfamiliar with Japan/Tokyo feel about the film.

For starters, Noe did a great job of depicting the underbelly of Tokyo: Kabukicho (a sleazy district in Shinjuku). Foreigners (as either workers or revelers) are far more likely to flock to Roppongi which is seedy in it's own right, but I'm glad he chose to avoid it. Also worth mentioning is that the Tokyo government does not issue film permits, so any of the outdoor shots are almost certainly guerilla style. How they did all the shots with the crane? Amazing. Also, a lot of the details of his direction of life in the city were very accurate.

However, there was one thing that is hard to get over after spending most of my adult life in Tokyo (and I'm not the only one). The cops shooting... through the door no less. I can't find the statistics but this is very close to impossible, even if the cops understood his English in the first place. I don't have problems suspending beliefs a bit in cinema, but I am curious of what people thought that aren't familiar with life in Tokyo/Japan.

Also, one point of clarification: Am I right in thinking that the police went to Victor's apartment, found his stash of narcotics, and then left w/o doing anything? If so, he probably could have done a bit more research as a director. That's even more impossible than the above. But, again, I can get over it I think.