The plot of the movie is very straightforward and it is revealed from the lips of the protagonist in the very first minutes of the movie, so don't expect any suspense here. It is about a young German woman who goes to Japan in order to escape her grief, finding some sort of solace in repairing an old woman's hut in Fukushima. Fukushima is, of course, that city that was devastated by a Tsunami and a nuclear meltdown some years back. So, there you go, once again, for the umpteenth time, the same old heart-broken-person-finds-meaning-in-restoring-some-old-garbage narrative... I am sorry for being so negative, but I really expected a little more originality from the acclaimed director Doris Dörrie. What really saves the movie is the beautiful black-and-white cinematography, which is a humble nod to Tarkovsky's "Stalker" or perhaps to some of Bela Tarr's bleak pictures of the Hungarian puszta. This film is visually a gem, but the story provides one cliché after the other. So if you are to enjoy it, I would recommend ignoring the plot, turning a blind eye on the German protagonist's terrible acting, and soaking in the evocative imagery.
Review of Greetings from Fukushima
