Why "The Second Bakery Attack" Makes Sense as an American Film - Max

After watching the movie adaptation of Murakami's "The Second bakery Attack," I think I understand why it boasts an American cast — even though the director, Carlos Cuaron, is a Mexican screenwriter. 

The reason is capitalism. 

The setting of the second attack is immediately understood by an American audience.  Swapping a "traditional" bakery attack for fast food burgers is comical, but also immediately legible to an American audience. This also comments on American consumerism and fast food culture.  Fast food provides convenience and a low price at the expense of true nutrition, and that's exactly the way the system works: eat now, think later. This aligns well with the open ending of the story. The couple eats, and the hunger subsides... but did it actually fix the underlying problem, or was it just an ephemeral solution? In my opinion, I think a comment on broader capitalism is precisely what they were trying to portray with the American cast, though I cannot say the same for the original story. 

I don't think Murakami intended this as a critique of American capitalism specifically; rather, a comment on how society itself has shifted towards convenience over meaning — making the bread easily replaceable by Big Macs.