Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

beenacontender Family movies. I’m not talking about the Disney or Pixar variety but the family ensemble film, depicting the various lives of an often eccentric clan from the inside out. While Ingmar Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander” and Yasujiro Ozu’s “Tokyo Stories” are hailed as the standards, Katsuhito Ishii provides his take on the genre with a most accessible and surprising piece of cinema: “The Taste of Tea.” Probably best known in the U.S. as the guest director of the anime segment in Kill Bill vol.1, Ishii has written and directed films (“Party 7” and “Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl”) that feature outrageous gangsters influenced by Tarantino, Japanese Manga and Anime, and the Hong Kong gun-fu flicksYou can imagine the level of expectations Ishii encountered when he introduced “The Taste of Tea” to the unsuspecting public – all low - whether you were familiar with his work or underwhlemed by the title. Ishii reveals in his third movie outing that he has grown as a filmmaker and much like the clichéd franchise films of the ‘80s – this time it’s personal.We are introduced to the Haruno family, living pastoral lives in their cozy, open-air home in the country. But underneath the placid surface each member of the family faces their own demons.Teenage son Hajime (a hilarious Takahiro Sato) takes the Jason Biggs role of the obsessive, horny Romeo who longs for love as seen with his frequent pillow and blanket dry-humping.Mother (Satomi Tezuka) runs the household while working on her dream Anime epic.Father (Tomokazu Miura) fights the malaise of work by using his hypnotherapy skills on his family.Grandad (Tatsuya Gashuin) provides the non-stop laughs at the expense of his unibrow, his childlike quirkiness, his tendency to sing about whatever he sees, and unfortunately his senility. The restless uncle (The Japanese Johnny Depp - Tadanobu Asano) is a talented record producer who somehow is sidetracked by a lack of closure in his life.Finally, little Sachiko (an adorable Maya Banno)cannot concentrate at school or home because of a bizarre recurring haunting: a gigantic 60-foot image of herself.Immediately we’re brought into Ishii’s surreal world with David Lynch (“Twin Peaks”) / Pierre Jeunet (“Amelie”) visuals that add to the inner conflicts of each family member. And love is what you’ll feel for the characters that you’ll come to know. Ishii never has to rely on melodrama to get us to sympathize with their individual plights. It’s all in the details. You hope against reason that they can all achieve their dreams. Not because they’re so wacky, so eccentric, or even lovable, but as strange as these characters are Ishii reveals a humbling moment which brings the character back to earth and into our hearts. See the movie with someone you really care for.

marta2046 A truly unique vision of a whimsical, funny and gently-demented family. The actors do a wonderful job in fleshing out the quirky characters so that they are never cartoons.The cinematography is fascinating-- sometimes simply beautiful; other times, bizarre. And sometimes the perspectives are distorted just enough so things take on a surreal appearance but you don't exactly know why.This a character-driven story without a whole lot of plot. If you need a complex storyline, you may be bored, but if you like stories which reveal the inner life of a creative family, this is the film to see.

Rocco3000 When watching this film (which everyone should), try not to take it too seriously. Try not to search for some elaborate plot. Just sit back, open your eyes, and enjoy the sights on screen. I promise you, if you enjoy expanding your horizons looking at images of art, then this film is for you.I found that in this film, if you were to freeze frame it at any point, you could post up the image in an art gallery as a work of art. It is not just the beautiful cinematography, but the complex, wondrous, awe-inspiring images that are put on screen that make this movie so good.On top of all that we have a collection of characters who are, themselves, pieces of art, whose idiosyncrasies and hilarity will have you amused from start to finish. Don't take them too seriously and don't try to look too deep for any hidden meanings. Take them for what they are and the things they make you think about.A truly great film, recommended for all.

Supergrass a bizarre, humorous, and surreal look at the quiet life of a seemingly ordinary country family in japan. the film contains a series of humorous anecdotes and events about the separate lives of an extended family. we start off with tadanobu asano's hilarious and unmatched story about 'crapping on a giant egg and the yakuza following him everywhere.' from there, the film moves between painfully slow countryside shots, which harken back to yasujiro ozu's films, and amusing tales of the family's ordinary life. one of the more pleasant and crowd pleasing stories relate's the family's son's attempts to woo the beautiful new biracial Japanese girl (anna tsuchiya from 'kamikaze girls') at school through his mastery of the game, go.even with the slow paced editing, the film is wonderfully charming and sometimes funnier than a rerun of sanford and son.totally worth your time and money.