While I didn't expect action, I did expect something more than a slide show of boring travels. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But it was self-conscious photography with nothing to recommend it except trying to be something it couldn't. The characters were poorly drawn and despite watching one scene three times, I was unable to determine which woman was taking off her clothes. The travels were monotonous and uneventful. I was not invested in the silk worm eggs in any way and should have been. Michael Pitt was badly miscast and Keira Knightly had little weight in what could have been a great role. When a movie contains as much narration as this one did, the viewer should not be left in the dark about important details. There was "trouble" in Japan. What kind of trouble? The Japanese trader's motives were unclear.