Originally, this entry was meant to be a pure review of the film, Cha no Aji by Katsuhito Ishii… but that was before some unforeseen complications distracted me from fully appreciating this film.  First off, I missed a huge chunk of the movie, about 30 minutes to be exact, due to arriving in the theater late.  By the time I figured out that I needed to get my ass down to the Imaginasian, the film was already starting and I was still in my apartment, 22 NYC blocks away.  Second, upon arriving in the theater late and un-wanting to bother people by walking in front of them as they watch, I decided to sit in the back.  What a big mistake.  Naturally, I was treated to a second show, two teens making slurping noises behind me.  Although it was hard to shake those occasional grunts from the back during the silent parts of the movie, those teens did make me feel a little comfortable, for at least someone near my age was watching this.  Well, they weren’t really watching per se… but anyway, with the rest of the crowd old enough to be my grandparents, I was starting to worry if my taste in movies were getting boring… or just becoming more mature?  Hmm, enough of the small talk, let’s get back to the film.  After all it’s what this entry is all about… right?

Like I’ve previously said, I missed the first 30 minutes, thus losing the initial context of the film and the introduction to each character.  I was left having to second guess everyone’s roles and the character’s relationships.  Overall, the process wasn’t too hard, the characters and the story were simple, in both good and bad ways.  Good, in the sense that characters were easy to understand, their motives, their feelings.  Bad in the sense that the over simplified nature of everything tended to make the experience… dragging, especially since the film is 143 minutes long.  However the point of the film was not to have a big action packed Hollywood blockbuster, Cha no Aji is just what the name implies, “the taste of tea”; appreciating the little things in life.

The film centers on the lives of a six member family living in a rural town north of Tokyo.  Nobuo and Yoshiko [Mom and Dad], Ayano [the uncle played by the cool Tadanobu Asano], Sachiko and Hajime [the kids], and grandpa… whom I can’t remember his name.  Their lives are purposely mundane in order to stay true to that theme of simplicity, though marked by their own personal endeavors.  Yoshiko is a budding cartoonist, Hajime is dealing with falling in love, and Ayano is working on recording Grandpa’s song.  And though these things may seem so ordinary, they’re probably the strongest parts of the story.  What the film does well is taking these ordinary stories and slowing down the pace to show things we might usually take for granted.  Like Grandpa flicking a chime just to hear the sound or little Sachiko who tries nearly everyday, to flip over a pole in the playground.  Like a game of Go between Hajime and Aoi, [Played by the cute Anna Tsuchiya] a game which Hajime took interest only to get closer to Aoi.  The old saying "stop and smell the roses" is befitting.

 

Overall this movie was nothing ground breaking, nor was it a waste.  It was well made, but I came into this after watching Naisu no Mori [another Katsuhito Ishii film] and I was expecting something just as wild.  What I found was a completely different film [but with a strikingly similar cast!].  Cha no Aji is quite a serious film, though it does have some Japanese quirkiness thrown into it [cue cosplayer photo shoot on a train and an ultra cheesy 70’s anime theme song].  I felt that this film was pretty good and I would watch it again, only because I didn’t have the pleasure of watching it completely and uninterrupted.  However, from what I saw, I feel that Naisu no Mori [Ishii’s other and latest film] is a film that is more of the “must see” variety, simply because it’s shocking, something that Cha no Aji lacks, though I suppose rightfully so.

And by the way, if you do plan to scavenge for a copy of this film and get to watch it… make sure you have a cup of green tea and savor every drop.

8.1 out of 10