A young Belgian woman who grew up in Japan and adores it goes back to Tokyo to work for a big corporation. She wants to be Japanese. The company has other plans: over one year she gets demoted, step by step, from interpreter to cleaning the toilets.
It really happened, more or less: it’s Amélie Nothomb’s own year at a Japanese company, told in her 1999 novel, and filmed by Alain Corneau in 2003 (original title Stupeur et tremblements). Sylvie Testud won the César for best actress as Amélie.
The title comes from the old etiquette for addressing the emperor: with fear and trembling. That’s the tone expected towards your boss. Cruel and very funny at the same time.