An older man, a much younger woman and a mystery that surrounds their relationship — for the Japanese, it's a familiar story. The woman doesn't say much, letting her youthful allure and beauty do most of the talking. The man doesn't say much either; he's more interested in looking at and pampering her, as if she were an exotic orchid rather than a human being. And the story of their mysterious relationship unfolds against the backdrop of a seaside hotel and its pool, a symbol of desire and obsession.

This film, "Onna ga Nemuru Toki" ("While the Women Are Sleeping") — a male-oriented story, aptly set in a male-dominated society — has created a stir here, partly because it is Wayne Wang's ("The Joy Luck Club," "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers") first Japanese movie, and partly because it is the first time in 12 years that Takeshi "Beat" Kitano has starred in a film by a director other than himself. Besides Kitano, the film stars Hidetoshi Nishijima who, according to women's magazine surveys, is consistently ranked among the top five of Japan's most desirable men.

Though based on a short story by Spanish novelist Javier Marias, the ambience permeating the film feels distinctly Japanese or at least East Asian. The older-man-and-much-younger-woman dynamic feels more at home in this part of the world. It should feel creepy but somehow it doesn't, even inviting sympathy and, perhaps, envy of the old man who has managed to capture the affections of a woman young enough to be his granddaughter.