Sweet Bean (2015)

Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?

Director:

Naomi Kawase

Writers:

Durian Sukegawa (based on the novel by), Naomi Kawase (screenplay)

Stars:

Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida

7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kirin Kiki	...	Tokue
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Sentarô
Kyara Uchida	...	Wakana
Miki Mizuno	...	Wakana's Mother
Miu Takeuchi
Saki Takahashi
Yurie Murata
Taiga Nakano	...	Yôhei (as Taiga)
Wakato Kanematsu	...	Wakato
Miyoko Asada	...	Shop Owner's Wife
Etsuko Ichihara	...	Yoshiko

Storyline

The manager of a pancake stall finds himself confronted with an odd but sympathetic elderly woman looking for work. A taste of her homemade red bean paste convinces him to hire her, which starts a relationship that is about much more than just street food.

---

Plot Keywords:

old age | pub | small business | street vendor | teenage girl | 

---

Taglines:

A Sweet Taste Of Life.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The young actress playing Wakana is Kirin Kiki's granddaughter.

---

Goofs

At approximately 3:22 something (presumably the boom) knocks the hat off of an extra walking past "Tokue". The hat falls in front of "Tokue" who glances down but continues walking. The extra doesn't stop until he is about 15 feet behind "Tokue". At that point he stops and turns back towards the camera. But instead of going to retrieve his hat he walks towards a store.

---

Quotes

Tokue: An is the soul of the doriyaki.

---

Connections

Features Listen to the Azuki's Voice (2016)

---

Soundtracks

The Maiden's Prayer
Composed by Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska
At first scene

User Reviews

Heart-wrenching

Yes, as others write, it's quite sentimental, and slightly didactic, but it isn't so in a corny way. The pain and moral dilemmas it portrays are very relatable and at times almost too much too bear. Maybe it's just that I find depictions of kind and lonely old folks very touching. Speaking of, Kirin Kiki's performance is brilliant. She's the real deal. She was so convincing that I actually checked if she was someone who had suffered from leprosy. This is a film in the tradition of Kurosawa's 'Ikiru'. There is even a sort of key moment in the film where Tokue uses the phrase 'ikiru' (to live).

Details

Country:

Japan France Germany

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 May 2015 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Sweet Bean

Filming Locations:

2 Chome-16 Sakaecho, Higashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY234,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,630, 20 March 2016

Gross USA:

$124,800

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,728,350

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aeon Entertainment, Asahi Shimbun, Comme des Cinémas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1