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Sweet Bean

Original title: An
  • 20152015
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
11K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, and Kyara Uchida in An (2015)
Trailer for Sweet Bean
Play trailer1:44
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama

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. Co... Read allBurdened 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?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?

IMDb RATING
7.4/10
11K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Naomi Kawase
  • Writers
    • Durian Sukegawa(based on the novel by)
    • Naomi Kawase(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Kirin Kiki
    • Masatoshi Nagase
    • Kyara Uchida
Top credits
  • Director
    • Naomi Kawase
  • Writers
    • Durian Sukegawa(based on the novel by)
    • Naomi Kawase(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Kirin Kiki
    • Masatoshi Nagase
    • Kyara Uchida
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 42User reviews
    • 136Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 8 nominations

    Videos2

    Sweet Bean
    Trailer 1:44
    Sweet Bean
    Sweet Bean - Trailer
    Trailer 1:43
    Sweet Bean - Trailer

    Photos313

    Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, and Kyara Uchida in An (2015)
    An (2015)
    Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, and Kyara Uchida in An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)
    An (2015)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kirin Kiki
    Kirin Kiki
    • Tokueas Tokue
    Masatoshi Nagase
    Masatoshi Nagase
    • Sentarôas Sentarô
    Kyara Uchida
    • Wakanaas Wakana
    Miki Mizuno
    • Wakana's Motheras Wakana's Mother
    Miu Takeuchi
    Saki Takahashi
    Yurie Murata
    Taiga Nakano
    Taiga Nakano
    • Yôheias Yôhei
    • (as Taiga)
    Wakato Kanematsu
    • Wakatoas Wakato
    Miyoko Asada
    • Shop Owner's Wifeas Shop Owner's Wife
    Etsuko Ichihara
    • Yoshikoas Yoshiko
    • Director
      • Naomi Kawase
    • Writers
      • Durian Sukegawa(based on the novel by)
      • Naomi Kawase(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —pagurus
    • old age
    • pub
    • small business
    • street vendor
    • teenage girl
    • 254 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • A Sweet Taste Of Life.
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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 reviews42

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Small, heartfelt, feel good movie
    Although I've traveled through Japan for three weeks last year, I had never heard of dorayaki, let alone eaten it. This omission has been put to an end by the film 'An'. As a nice and original gimmick, every viewer in the cinema I went to, received a dorayaki with his ticket, nicely wrapped in cellophane. The fun thing is: nobody knew exactly what is was, until the film was well underway.

    A dorayaki is a sort of double mini-pancake, filled with bean paste. The Japanese word for the bean paste is an, hence the title of the film.

    'An' is a small, heartfelt, feel-good movie. It starts and ends with beautiful images of cherry-blossom, the epitome of all things Japanese. The story takes place in the twelve month period between the blossom seasons. Sentaro, a quiet man in his thirties, sells dorayaki in a fast food stand. One day, a woman in her seventies brings him a plastic box filled with home-made an, because she doesn't like the industrial an Sentaro uses for his dorayaki. At her request, Sentaro hesitantly hires her as an expert an-maker, and from then on, business is booming.

    This sounds like 'An' is a movie about food. It is, but it's about much more. The story is also about illness, death, discrimination, youth and capitalism. But above all, it's about enjoying life and looking at the bright side of things. There are parallels with the wonderful Indian film 'Lunch Box', but 'An' is less energetic and much more philosophical. It tends to be a bit slow, and towards the end the story drags on a bit. But these are minor flaws. Overall, 'An' is a nice film that makes you leave the cinema with the feeling that mankind isn't so bad after all.
    helpful•46
    8
    • rubenm
    • Feb 14, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 30, 2015 (Japan)
    • Countries of origin
      • Japan
      • France
      • Germany
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • An
    • Filming locations
      • 2 Chome-16 Sakaecho, Higashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Aeon Entertainment
      • Asahi Shimbun
      • Comme des Cinémas
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ¥234,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $124,800
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,630
      • Mar 20, 2016
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,728,350
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, and Kyara Uchida in An (2015)
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