The Taste of Tea (2004)

A Movie about "Nothing"...But There's Something!

A movie about "Nothing"---but there is something. THE TASTE OF TEA is the handiwork of Katsushito Ishii, the director of the acclaimed cult hit "Party 7" and "Funky Forest: First Contact". Now, I'll go straight to the point, this film is about family, anime, a boy's young love, a young girl's journey through childhood, with very simple execution. If you're looking for a movie with a steadfast destination, then this movie may not be for you or if you want to use puns, not your cup of tea. However, this film is a grand display of Ishii's directorial skills, the man just knows how to tell a story and gets everything right.

A summer in the lives of the quirky Haruno clan, who passes the unhurried days trying to realize their ambitions. In a small town just North of Tokyo, a dedicated mother (Satomi Tezuka) attempts to revive her anime career with the aid of Grandpa who assumes the poses, her hypno-therapist hubby (Tomokazu Miura) has no choice but to back her decision and supports the family financially. Meanwhile, their eldest son (Takahiro Sato) feels the allure of teenage love and their 6 yr.-old daughter (Maya Banno) grapples with a pesky, gigantic doppelganger. Brother Asano (Tadanobu Asano) wants to be a successful sound mixer.

Remember the show "Seinfeld" that pronounces itself as a show about "nothing", well, Ishii has taken that phrase to the next level. The film's beauty is the manner on which it is structured with body languages, facial expressions and mumblings as its main vehicle in expressing its ideas. While its main premise is simple, it has the uncanny ability to say a lot without even saying a word. From the young girl who plays peek-a-boo with Grandpa, to the times when the teenager plays "Go" with his father and Uncle while the mother discusses posture and cool stances for her anime feature. A lot of it are "little things", sequences of everyday family matters but the film expresses a lot through its whimsical and episodic style. The word "Mosaic" is truly fitting for this film, since it is truly composed of diverse elements and formulas.

There's a Yakuza ghost with feces on his head whose tale is told by the boy's uncle, the giant egg, the goal of the "perfect" back flip, all these factors contribute to the family's amazing chemistry through interaction. The characters are so interesting and their characteristics mesh so well that if you take away one, the other characters would have to react differently. This is truly a great sign of excellent storytelling, when the characters take a life of their own and the plot (or lack of) can really breath. The family has become one breathing entity because of its direction.

The film is not a drama; nothing really major happens but it promotes an emotional reaction. It is not a comedy, yet, I found myself laughing quite a lot from its sequences. The film is not really telling a tale but it is more about memoirs, reflections and the clan's everyday routine. It's a bit long at 2 hours and 17 minutes, but with its eccentric characters and meandering storyline, the film will envelope you with its charm and its bright whimsical humor will undoubtedly put a smile on your face and will keep you locked in for its entirety. Even with its slower-paced moments, Ishii will draw you in with its warmth and joyful emulation will never bore you.

"The Taste of Tea" is rightfully named. Sometimes bizarre and odd, whimsical and episodic, with subtleties about life's meaning. To some Tea tastes flat and just tastes like flavored water, to some its variety of flavors add a lot of satisfaction to our taste buds. Tea can also be sometimes sweet and at the same time bitter. The film's execution has plenty of capacity for humor, and its humor is universal and won't get lost in its translation. "The Taste of Tea" is about Life's fulfillment, that lies in the pursuit of individual goals and these goals need not be huge or life-changing to provide a feeling of joy. Happiness is in the little things and appreciation for things we usually ignore is what true fulfillment is really about.

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June 29, 2008

Visually pleasing

This is a visually pleasing film, full of unexpected beauty. It is about unusual Japanese family living in mountain. Family consists of artists, visual and musical and the head of the family happens to be a hypnotist who enhances their imagination with unexected hypnotic sessions. Each family member is going thru significant changes in life. Mom, who is animator is trying to get back into workforce, young boy is coming of age is hopelessly falling in love with very pretty newcomer girl into his class, young girl is lethargic in her attempt to rid of her giant imaginary ghost who seems to be following her everywhere. Their uncle, a sound mixer, is having difficult time of letting go of the girl who has married someone else. As they all go thru their days, the grandfather, seemingly senile is singing along, playing hide an seek with his granddaughter and preparing his new musical score for his nephew's birthday. We see beauty of nature all around them: rice fields, butterflies, wild flowers, greenery of trees in the the mountains. And then one day, as gradfather dies, in his room his family finds animation books about each family member. It is amazing to learn that the way the old man saw them is the way they saw themselves during critical moments in their lives. Beautiful film about little moments in life that make family members feel close to each other and make us all appreciate life in all its beauty. This is film for sophisticated and mature viewers. It is complicated in its simplicity...I have enjoyed this film very much. June 9, 2008

Could have been great if there had been some grown-ups in the editing room.

The movie is over two hours and twenty minutes long, and would have been much better with about 45 minutes or so left on the cutting room floor.

It's too bad because the story-telling could quite have been quite good had it been a little more focused. Ishii could have used a trusted friend insisting that he cut his favorite parts.

The story he is mostly charming, but suffers from too many subplots. In fact pretty much everything is a subplot because there are so many characters. As a result none of the pieces ever get fully developed. Without giving away the end, it's unfortunate that the resolution of one of these subplots winds up acting as a deus ex machina for all the others.

Paradoxically, while the movie was overly long, the story of Haruno family would have made a great 13-part series. That way we could have really gotten to know everyone and the story would have been able to build to the point where we could get a reasonable resolution for all the characters.

As it is you have to take everything in all at once, and the result is disappointing. February 17, 2008

Well...

...all I will add is that this movie begs you to watch it over and over again. It is an absolute charmer, the type of which cannot be found in (modern) American movies. Which is a terrible shame.
December 20, 2007

a well made cup of tea

I bought this movie on a whim and I was very pleasantly surprised. The story and characters are quirky yet endearing on many levels - the grandfather in particular is priceless. It is a modern tale of an artistic family living in a suburb of Tokyo - very pastoral scenery, but very urban neuroses. It is an artistic rendering of everyday situations that make you want to laugh and cry. It is also a kaleidoscope of Yakuza thugs, hypnosis therapy, artistic integrity, letting go of a relationship, mixing music in a studio, surviving your in-laws, and more! It is all done with a light touch the neither judges nor tries to reduce to some trite formula.
If you enjoy art films and different cultures, this is a must see. December 17, 2007

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