Cha no aji (2004)

A spell of time of a rural family's slightly surreal life.

Director:

Katsuhito Ishii

Writer:

Katsuhito Ishii

Stars:

Maya Banno, Takahiro Satô, Tadanobu Asano

15 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Maya Banno	...	Sachiko Haruno - daughter
Takahiro Satô	...	Hajime Haruno - son
Tadanobu Asano	...	Ayano Haruno - uncle
Satomi Tezuka	...	Yoshiko Haruno - mother
Tatsuya Gashûin	...	Akira Todoroki - grandpa
Tomoko Nakajima	...	Akira Terako
Ikki Todoroki	...	Self
Tomokazu Miura	...	Nobuo Haruno - father
Anna Tsuchiya	...	Aoi Suzuishi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Saki Aibu	...	Hotaru
Hideaki Anno	...	Kasugabe
Keisuke Horibe	...	Man in Noodle Shop
Ryô Kase	...	Rokutaro Hamadayama - Cosplayer
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Waitress At Noodle Shop (as Yuriko Kikuchi)
Kirin Kin	...	Grandma

Storyline

A spell of time in the life of a family living in rural Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Though her husband is busy working at an office, Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project at home. Uncle Ayano has recently arrived, looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo for several years. Meanwhile, Yoshiko's daughter Sachiko is mainly concerned with why she seems to be followed around everywhere by a giant version of herself.

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Plot Keywords:

yakuza | tattoo | big head | bowel movement | toilet humor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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User Reviews

An infant terrible comes of age.

Ishii's first and second films were boisterous, flashy, colorful, and irreverent, but his mastery of editing, sound design, and narrative (not to mention the surprisingly touching romance at the heart of his debut, Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl) suggested that behind all the fireworks is a real genius who truly loves and understands the medium of film, not just a flashy showman using his advertising experience to deliver 90 minutes of pretty looking entertainment. With Ishii's third film, the dreamlike, funny, occasionally absurd, and ultimately mournful Taste of Tea (best feature winner at the 2004 Hawaii International Film Festival) he tones things down a notch from his prior efforts and gets personal, telling the story of a single family rather than an ensemble of oddballs (though the family is admittedly a little weird). The result is wonderful. Touching, hilarious, beautiful, odd, and constantly surprising. If you weren't paying attention during some of the moving and humane "slow" parts of Sharkskin Man, you might be shocked that Taste of Tea is from the same stylish hipster who once told an audience not to treat his first film like a cultural artifact but just to "enjoy the idiots on screen." Like Pierre Jeunet with Amelie, Ishii has demonstrated with Taste of Tea that there's real substance to be found under all that style. Absolutely not to be missed.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official Site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 April 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Cha no aji

Filming Locations:

Tochigi, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,324

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aoi Promotion, Grasshoppa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1