Directed by:
Katsuhito IshiiScreenplay:
Katsuhito IshiiPlots(1)
Meet the Harunos, a rather unconventional, but happy and loving family nonetheless. They live in a small town in the mountains just out of Tokyo where life is good and quiet - but that doesn't mean they don't have their own little problems.
As 8-year old Sachiko (Maya Banno) tries to get rid of a giant version of herself who seems to pop up everywhere, her older brother Hajime (Takahiro Sato), privately wrestles with his love-struck heart. Meanwhile, their mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is working hard, coming out of retirement as an animator, as her husband and professional hypnotist Nobuo (Tomokazu Miura) watches on with slight apprehension. Yoshiko's brother, Ayano (Tadanobu Asano) is just visiting his hometown and staying with the family, but also has ashidden agenda; he needs to come to terms with a romance that ended years ago. Even Nobuo's brother and successful manga artist Todoroki has his problems. It's his birthday soon and he wants to give himself something special. And lastly there's Grandpa, the most bizarre and perhaps the most perceptive of all, who continues to search for a better way to live life to the full.
(official distributor synopsis)
Videos (1)
Reviews (1)
The Taste of Tea is endearing, heartfelt and funny in places, but it’s mostly a boring and nonsensical mishmash of images from the life of a family in rural Japan. I don’t fault the director for being flighty, but I can’t forgive him for what he transforms his vision into. Most of the dialogue in this film is forced improvisation with no concept and the interesting scenes make up half an hour of the 140 minute runtime!
()
Gallery (35)
Photo © Viz Pictures
![The Taste of Tea - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/161/496/161496096_e14fcf.jpg)