The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Katakuri-ke no kôfuku (original title)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Kikumi Yamagishi (screenplay)
Ai Kennedy (translation)

Release Date:

23 February 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Musical | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Love, Music, Horror, Volcanos. Cinema was never meant to be like this! (UK Release)

Plot:

A family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Bed | Suicide | Sex | Room

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kenji Sawada	...	Masao Katakuri
Keiko Matsuzaka	...	Terue Katakuri
Shinji Takeda	...	Masayuki Katakuri
Naomi Nishida	...	Shizue Katakuri
Kiyoshiro Imawano	...	Richâdo Sagawa
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Ojîsan Jinpei Katakuri
Naoto Takenaka	...	TV Reporter / Singer
Tamaki Miyazaki	...	Yurie Katakuri
Takashi Matsuzaki	...	Utanômi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yoshiki Arizono	...	Father of the poor family
Chihiro Asakawa	...	Utanômi's girlfriend
Masahiro Asakawa
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Kudou
Moeko Ezawa
Akiko Hatakeyama
Yumeki Kanazawa	...	Byôki otoko no ko
Maro
Aya Meguro
Yoshiyuki Morishita	...	Policeman Miyaki
Yuka Nakatani
Miho Sawada
Tokitoshi Shiota	...	First guest

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ai Kennedy		translation
Kikumi Yamagishi		screenplay

Produced by
Hirotsugu Yoshida	....	producer

Original Music by
Kôji Endô
Kôji Makaino

Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura		(as Taiji Shimamura)

Makeup Department
Yûichi Matsui	....	special makeup effects artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masato Tanno	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Yoshiya Obara	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Misako Saka	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Kiyoshi Itô	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Ryohei Kondo	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Dentsu
• Eisei Gekijo
• Ganmo
• Gentosha
• Katakuri-ke no Kôfuku Seisaku Iinkai
• Little Garage
• Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS)
• Sedic International
• Shochiku Company
• Spike K.K.

Distributors

• American Cinematheque
• Discotek Media (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as Eastern Star)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• I-On New Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (subtitled)
• Shochiku Company
• Ventura Distribution (USA) (DVD)
• Vitagraph Films (2002) (USA)

Other Companies

• Gekidan Himawari  extras
• H.I.A  extras
• Office Ra-Ja  extras
• Shochiku Costumes  costume

Also Known As:

"Katakuri-ke no kôfuku" - Japan (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent images and some sexual content

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Dentsu

Movie Connections:

References Ichi the Killer (2001)

A death musical about happiness?

Version: Japanese audio, English subtitles (by SBS).

Oh my, I think I have a new favourite movie, and the only way I can describe this is as a death musical about happiness. Wow, 'Happiness of the Katakuris' is possibly the most incredibly awesome movie I've ever seen.

In an effort to keep the Katakuri family together and happy, Masao (Kenji Sawada) opens a guest house in a secluded mountain area. Unfortunately, the first guest lacks clothes and apparently a reason to live, and kills himself. In a panic, the family sings, dances, and buries the body in the forest. The next guests are a sumo wrestler and his underage girlfriend, who both cark it while getting - ahem - intimate. Such a rising body count will test the Katakuri family's unity and their ability to break into impromptu song and dance numbers.

I was under the impression that 'Happiness of the Katakuris' was a zombie musical (like 'Battlefield Baseball'). Zombies only appeared in one scene in 'Happiness of the Katakuris' and yet the lack of zombies didn't disappoint me at all. Miike proves just how versatile his insanity is by directing something insane, yet far away from his standard fare. We get dancing zombies in one scene, a very strange claymation scene that seems to exist for no real purpose, and cheesy musical numbers that are well over the top. This funny and happy Miike is so much cooler than the Miike obsessed with exploding brains and unsettling torture scenes.

Ever seen the Monty Python film 'The Life of Brian'? 'Happiness of the Katakuris' ends with the same message: "always look on the bright side of life". 'Happiness of the Katakuris' is very entertaining and funny, and a great film, although I doubt it would appeal to everyone. It is my new favourite movie. In fact, I think I'll go watch it again now... - 10/10