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

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

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: Great-grandpa lives an easy life, telling lies and being selfish.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Music & madness

OKAY. First off, I have to thank my friend who got to the theater one minute before the film started. Secondly, we thought we were going to see "City of Lost Souls" and it turned out that they were showing this film. Oh well, it's by Miike, it should be good.

Wow. I find it's best viewing japanese cinema with no knowledge of the film beforehand. I saw Audition tha way and am proud to say I am now 97% fully recovered (j.k.). While Miike's ability to grab your attention and slowly drag you into the film is still present, the musical numbers probably had me (and others) laughing in the crowd. The Katakuris are a bunch of characters, let me tell ya. Miike's dark side is there, but in a twisted, strange, more subtle way. Watch the expressions, faces, and exaggerated acting in this film which are definitely major highlights. Some of my faves were the navy guy, the guests of the house, the grandpa, but overall, the family are hilarious when all onscreen.

It's definitely has its moments of light-heartedness, laughs, and 'interesting' claymation. Very entertaining and fun. A lot of people (including myself) were cracking up in disbelief and bewilderment. Definitely see it!