The Taste of Tea (2004)

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.

Fmovies: Ishi's whimsical, playful take on rural Japanese family life veers from the banal to the surreal. It is an episodic look at the quirks of various family members, but not family life, because each character lives in their own little bubble mysteriously alienated from those around them. There is very little interaction between family members, or anyone else for that matter. Ideas are introduced - Hajime's first love is delicious and hell, Sachiko needs to get her bar skills up, Grandpa had a secret art project - and then just left to wither like persimmons in the Tochigi sun. The film meanders, but goes nowhere. We finish with a sappy montage of all the characters staring at the same sunset, a pat ending belying the lack of characterization or plot.

Yamada's Village of Dreams takes a rural childhood, relates it episodically, to make meaning that resonates universally on themes of nostalgia and loss. This film just whimpers from one slapstick-TV set up to another. Some of the scenes bring a smile to your face, and the photography is flawlessly done, although the one-scene/one-set-up cutting gets a bit monotonous. But you could jumble the scenes in this film in a randomizer and come out with the same amount of meaning and emotional impact. It is all very ho-hum, and drags tediously after the first 90 minutes.

As a writer, Ishi seems best suited to short-form comedy, the experimental kind that dominates late-night Japanese TV. This material should never have been cobbled together into a feature film. Lovely visuals, strong performances, but in the end just a lot of wry smiles and bizarre behaviour adding up to nothing.

Just some information concerning director Katsuhito Ishii. Cha no Aji is his third feature, he's also an established music video and commercial director. Through his association with Grasshoppa, a production company in Tokyo launched over two years ago, he's also directed several short films, including works in animation. He collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on the anime sequence in Kill Bill vol.1. Cha no Aji shows how an urban family has made the move to the countryside, managing to keep an active, stimulating life, a theme explored by several young directors from Japan. Ishii succeeds in merging the traditional plots of the Japanese family drama with the creative eccentricity of Tokyo trends. Although indie star Tadanobu Asano has appeared in all of Ishii's films, the director's secret weapon is Tatsuya Gashuin, another Ishii regular, who plays the part of the grandfather, a former manga master. Why Katsuhito Ishii's films haven't released overseas remains a mystery...Nobody knows?

The Taste of Tea fmovies. DO NOT miss the chance to see this incredible film by Katsuhito Ishii. I just recently saw it at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and it was by far the best film I saw in my short stay there. The sheer imagination of the character's lives portrayed on screen is amazing. Little can be said to explain exactly what this film is about, but it is one of those films that you could simply watch for days upon end without getting tired of the characters or their stories.

It's incredible to think that the director of this film has such little professional experience in film, as he handles the script, editing, and directing of "Cha no aji" like he has had years to hone his craft. The innovative use of special effects, humor, and flashbacks give the film its unique, unforgettable "taste".

The Taste of Tea tells a charming story of an unconventional Japenese family, the Haruno's, with characters as likable as they are eccentric; Hajime (Takahiro Sato), a shy teen with an unrequited love and a developing case of "female phobia." Sachiko (Maya Banno), a little girl with a 40 foot imaginary twin. Ayano (Tadanobu Asano), an uncle with his share of interesting stories. Grandpa Akira (Tatsuya Gashuin), a Manga posing old man with a unique spin on hide and seek. Taste of Tea features all these rich characters, as well as a psychiatrist father (Tomokazu Miura),an artistic mother (Satomi Tezuka), and an flamboyant uncle in a wide array of well-constructed vignettes that range from hilarious, to sad, to outright beautiful.

Leisurly paced, Director Ishii is in no hurry in telling the story(ies) of the Haruno's. At 143 minutes, Taste of Tea might test some people's patience, particularly those who watch Japanese films for the exploitative nature of Asian Cinema might be disappointed. But those who possess the fortitude, will be greatly rewarded by scenes such as hilarious "Mountain Song" and the Super Big Screening. However, the film's emotional payoff features one of the most bittersweet moments contained in any film, of any country. It is sure to move many viewers to tears... myself included.

As important as Ishii's direction, is the ensemble casts performance. Everyone does a great job here, particularly Asano, who steals any scene he's in (obviously), and Tatsuya Gashuin stands out as the wonderfully comical Grandpa. That being said, the sum of the whole is greater than it's parts, as everyone in this film is wonderfully casted and portrayed. There really aren't any week links in terms of acting, which helps create interesting, vibrant characters which is crucial to this type of film, and under Ishii's competent direction, the result is pure cinematic magic.

The cinematography and score are also integral to Taste of Tea and it doesn't disappoint. Achingly beautiful filmed landscape shots, combined with a subtle and reserved score help set the film's emotional nature. Constantly changing with the film, evolving as the characters grow and change. Cinematographer Kosuke Matushima and composer Tempo Little hold their own with Ishii's direction and the casts performances to create a touching film of immense beauty.

As quirky as it is brilliant, A Taste of Tea reminds the viewer of the beauty of life, family, and the awkward little moments we all endure, but never really truly appreciate till afterward. A masterpiece of Japanese cinema, Katsuhito Ishii cements his reputation as one of the most interesting directors of modern Japanese Celluloid. After directing the wildly entertaining Shark Skin Man, and the brilliant family drama Taste of Tea, one hopes we can expect wonderful things from him in the future.

Ishii's first and second films were boisterous, flashy, colorful, and irreverent, but his mastery of editing, sound design, and narrative (not to mention the surprisingly touching romance at the heart of his debut, Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl) suggested that behind all the fireworks is a real genius who truly loves and understands the medium of film, not just a flashy showman using his advertising experience to deliver 90 minutes of pretty looking entertainment. With Ishii's third film, the dreamlike, funny, occasionally absurd, and ultimately mournful Taste of Tea (best feature winner at the 2004 Hawaii International Film Festival) he tones things down a notch from his prior efforts and gets personal, telling the story of a single family rather than an ensemble of oddballs (though the family is admittedly a little weird). The result is wonderful. Touching, hilarious, beautiful, odd, and constantly surprising. If you weren't paying attention during some of the moving and humane "slow" parts of Sharkskin Man, you might be shocked that Taste of Tea is from the same stylish hipster who once told an audience not to treat his first film like a cultural artifact but just to "enjoy the idiots on screen." Like Pierre Jeunet with Amelie, Ishii has demonstrated with Taste of Tea that there's real substance to be found under all that style. Absolutely not to be missed.