"Tanshin funin" is variously translated as "being posted overseas without one's family" or "short-term unaccompanied transfer", but in any case is an important aspect of Japanese society. It is often regarded as something to be endured for the sake of one's career.
This movie, then, depicts the ultimate "tanshin funin" experience: being posted for more than a year at a research station in Antarctica, at very high elevation, so that there is absolutely nothing of interest in the area. Options for communication are limited as well; phone calls back to Japan are a pricey 740 yen (over US$6.00) per minute. They don't appear to have the bandwidth needed for Skype....
So these eight middle-aged men, sentenced to live together in the midst of endless ice and snow and not much else, have to make their own fun. Which they manage in various ways, more or less, to more or less stave off insanity--which is indeed the understated dark side to this movie: such situations really are hazardous to mental health.
Mostly a fun movie, told from the chef's POV. Some parts may require an understanding of Japanese cultural idiosyncracies, such as the crazy idea for "fried lobster" (which doesn't sound quite so crazy in the original Japanese). Also a serious movie about dealing with loneliness, isolation, monotony, which are often part of the tanshin funin experience.
I have to disagree with another reviewer here though, this film has nothing, other than food, in common with Tampopo (dir. Juzo Itami).
This movie, then, depicts the ultimate "tanshin funin" experience: being posted for more than a year at a research station in Antarctica, at very high elevation, so that there is absolutely nothing of interest in the area. Options for communication are limited as well; phone calls back to Japan are a pricey 740 yen (over US$6.00) per minute. They don't appear to have the bandwidth needed for Skype....
So these eight middle-aged men, sentenced to live together in the midst of endless ice and snow and not much else, have to make their own fun. Which they manage in various ways, more or less, to more or less stave off insanity--which is indeed the understated dark side to this movie: such situations really are hazardous to mental health.
Mostly a fun movie, told from the chef's POV. Some parts may require an understanding of Japanese cultural idiosyncracies, such as the crazy idea for "fried lobster" (which doesn't sound quite so crazy in the original Japanese). Also a serious movie about dealing with loneliness, isolation, monotony, which are often part of the tanshin funin experience.
I have to disagree with another reviewer here though, this film has nothing, other than food, in common with Tampopo (dir. Juzo Itami).