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

Ojîsan Jinpei Katakuri: The bastard! He stole our ashtray too.

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Connections

Version of A Mysterious Murder (2003)

User Reviews

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