Tag Archives: japan

The Taste of Tea (2004): A sip of whimsy and charm.

You might be able to tell that I have a special obsession with Japanese film. I find that the surrealism and humour of Japanese film tends to be in a class of its own, and The Taste of Tea (2004) is no exception to this. This charming film follows the movements of the Haruno family during […]

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001): Surrealist, horror, musical, black comedy.

Takashi Miike’s musical-horror-comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) follows the exploits of the failure-prone members of the Katakuri family as they start up their quiet mountain bed & breakfast inn. As business starts picking up, and all their guests begin dying of various ridiculous causes, the Katakuri family is forced to band together in […]

Love & Pop (1998): Materialism with a cultural twist.

Hideaki Anno’s Love & Pop (1998) explores an activity that is apparently fairly popular in Japan, called enjo-kosai; compensated dating. Hiromi and her three friends are normal, middle-class teenagers in Japan, but they are not immune to the lure of fancy things. They decide to advertise themselves for compensated dating in order to have some […]