The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

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

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Ai Kennedy (translation), Kikumi Yamagishi (screenplay)

Stars:

Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kenji Sawada	...	Masao Katakuri
Keiko Matsuzaka	...	Terue Katakuri
Shinji Takeda	...	Masayuki Katakuri
Naomi Nishida	...	Shizue Katakuri
Kiyoshirô Imawano	...	Richâdo Sagawa
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Grandpa 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	...	Itako
Mutsumi Fujita

Storyline

A pioneer of a man convinces his family to take advantage of news of a road soon to be built through an area of the country that can be had for next to nothing. He, his aging, but wise father, his loving and loyal wife, along with a slow-to-persuade son and a divorced daughter with toddler in hand who also happens to be the narrator, bravely move out to this new space and open a bed and breakfast. They make the place everything anyone could want, as they have so much time to work on it, since no one is making reservations to stay there. Eventually, the customers come...but each one dies while in their room and the family is trying to get rid of the evidence a.s.a.p so as not to ruin their reputation before they even get up and running. One thing leads to another and the bodies have to be moved.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | sing along | absurdism | guesthouse | grandmother grandchild relationship | 

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Taglines:

The hills are alive with the sound of screaming

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent images and some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several well known brands appear throughout the film such as clothes from the Kappa clothing brand (worn by Masayuki and Terue Katakuri) as well as a vintage Coca-Cola bench.

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Goofs

A piece of flying debris gets caught on Richâdo Sagawaw's stunt wire for a few seconds whilst he begins flying in the junk yard musical scene.

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Quotes

Shizue Katakuri: [looking at the dead sumo wrestler lying naked on the bed] Looking at him like this, he seems even bigger.
Ojîsan Jinpei Katakuri: He's inflating.

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Connections

Referenced in Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks: The Sadist (2015)

User Reviews

What a remake

'The Happiness of the Katakuris' may be a remake (to the very sober and also amazing 'Quiet Family' from the highly talented Ji-woon Kim) but it does not rehash the original. Instead it turns it upside down to create a movie that manipulates the same plot with very different results. Miike adds his trippy aesthetics to the story, adds more characters and takes the viewer on a very strange journey that can only be described as a dark musical comedy. Dead bodies keep piling but that is precisely the thrust for the family to break into song and dance routines, at times even with karaoke lines. Hilarity is never absent and lends an aura of surrealism along with the odd clay animation sequences.

The movie is exuberant and completely over the top with parodies aimed at plenty of conventions such as sugary love declarations (including a very gullible young mother) and final last words speeches. Somewhere along the line there are even singing and dancing zombies neatly in tune with the family, all joined in a jarringly positive song that seems to poke fun at the obsession of being upbeat that seems so prevailing in Japanese culture.

And yet throughout the insanity emerges a surprisingly moving story about family bonds. The end confirms this even as it takes the movie to a whole new level of pure weirdness. 'The Happiness of the Katakuris' is a genuinely original take on family centered cinema and for mingling such disparate elements it deserves respect.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

23 February 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Filming Locations:

Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dentsu, Eisei Gekijo, Ganmo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1