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The Happiness Of The Katakuris [2003]
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Quick Reviews!
Review date: 2007-12-15 Rating: 8 out of 10
Miike does it again, further proving that he his currently the best director in the world, and that Asia is, and has for the last 5 years been making the best films. Again the main theme of the film is family, as we watch the Katakuri family, four generations and a dog, struggling to start a new life in the countryside by opening a Hotel/Inn. The tone and content of the film is lighter than many of the recent films he has gained Western recognition for, such as Audition, but his trademark weirdness, violence and wonderful originality is all here. Each family member is different and has their own strengths and weaknesses-Great Grandpa hates crows, Grandpa is losing faith in his business and cannot trust his son who is a former thief, Grandma tries to keep the family together and mother will fall in love to easily. Her daughter tells the story, and is largely a solitary figure. Then people start to die.
A guest kills himself, the family cover it up, and Mother falls in love with a psycho. Later, more guests die, and the psycho comes back leading to a police chase, animated mountain side fight, zombie dancers and several musical numbers. Then the Volcano erupts. The use of animation is excellent, the songs are short and catchy, and the story is interesting. There are lots of funny moments, the kinds of moments Hollywood, or anywhere else just cannot give, and every performance is brilliant. Plus the film looks gorgeous as well. Another great film form Takashi Miike, if you take the time to explore his movies, he deserves your praise. Whether he cares about Western recognition is another matter. The last thing to say is that he makes better films than anyone else at the moment. Hollywood director's make 1 movie every four years, quality average. Takashi- 5 films a year, almost all excellent.
The DVD has trailers, interviews, and thankfully a very good making of. More Tartan DVDs should be like this, as the best movies at the moment are coming from Asia at the moment and it would be good to know more about the cast, and making process.
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Reviews
The hills are alive with the sound of laughter.
Review date: 2007-10-22 Rating: 10 out of 10
The Happiness of the Katakuris is probably Takashi Miike's strangest film (or at least, stranger than any of the others that I've seen so far; which is quite an accomplishment when you consider that some of those films include the equally bizarre delights of Gozu, Dead or Alive, Ichi the Killer and Visitor Q). Where The Happiness of the Katakuris exceeds the strangeness of those particular films is in the not so subtle blending of genres, styles and influences; making reference to and pastiche of everything from Japanese television and post-war family melodrama, to Hollywood musicals and zombie exploitation.
The overall result is like a kind of giddy burst of merry, kaleidoscopic excess; as sounds, sights, colours and textures all blend amidst the barrage of stop-motion horror, live action character development and scenes of Technicolor, all-singing/all-dancing delirium! The basic plot was loosely inspired by an earlier Korean film called The Quiet Family - the first film from Kim-Ji Woon, director of A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life - which was more of a straight horror/comedy story about a typical nuclear family that set up a hunting lodge in the countryside, only to find that their first wave of clients are dying off one by one in mysterious circumstances. Miike transports the action to rural Japan and spins a yarn of staggering imagination; adding broader strokes of slap-stick humour, campy musical numbers and a colourful zombie pastiche.
Still, don't come to this expecting a horror film or something that continues the brutality of Ichi the Killer or Agitator (two other films that Miike directed alongside this in 2001); The Happiness of the Katakuris is a comedy at its most satirical and absurd; using the frame-work of the story to look at the backgrounds of three generations of Japanese men and the women that support them, and tying it all into a subtle reference about Japanese culture, from the post war to the present. And even if you chose to ignore the more satirical angle presented in both the humour and the narrative design there's still so much left to enjoy; with the constant barrage of sight gags and colourful musical numbers erupting from the seemingly calm veneer of a "normal" family life.
For me, Miike is a genius filmmaker, and The Happiness of the Katakuris is easily one of his must-see works! From the Buñuel-ian tinged opening that descends into a sequence of stop-motion animation that introduces us to both the themes and story of the film we're about to see, to the grand finalé which moves spasmodically from musical, to farce, to high tension; before eventually ending on a dual moment of tragedy and jubilation. The performances throughout are superb, with each member of the family feeling like a proper three-dimensional character that we can really relate to and believe in. It's also worth pointing out that for a director with a reputation as brutal and offensive as Miike's this is the second film he made in the year 2001 alone in which the ultimate point of the film was the importance of family and tradition (the other being the similarly brilliant and outlandish satire, Visitor Q).
The Happiness of the Katakuris is masterpiece film for me; inventive, irreverent but also filled with empathy and compassion. I'd place it on the list of essential films by Takashi Miike, with some of the others being the well-known likes of Audition, Gozu and Visitor Q, but also more understated works like The Bird People in China, The Great Yokai War and Shinjuku Triad Society. A must have for anyone with an interest in original, intelligent and highly imaginative filmmaking!
Could of been so much better.
Review date: 2007-10-18 Rating: 4 out of 10
The premise of the film was so good. A family who invest everything in a rural hotel, but when they do eventualy get some guests they all decease in one way or another. If they^d played it straight as a black comedy it could of been excellent. But it wasn^t. It was realy dissapointing. The singing and dancing slots, and ludicrus animation ruined it. And what a ridiculous end, (east africa in the back yard).
Comparisons..
Review date: 2006-09-26 Rating: 10 out of 10
Have Happiness of Katakuris..Great film. Does anyone know what this is like - Choyonghan kajok - The Quiet Family. Get idea they are similar?
This film is so awesome!!
Review date: 2006-08-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
This film has singing, dancing, horror, romance AND comedy which makes it everything you could ever want on a saturday evening. Watch it with an open mind and you'll love every second.
The first time i watched this i was thinking 'hmmmm, strange' but then it started to really grow on me and now it's definately one of my top ten favourite films.
The first 10 minutes are insane and a bit gross, but after the start you really come to love the characters and the crazy plot the film Takashi Miike has to offer.
I totally LOVE all the songs, i find myself singing along even though they're in Japanese!! They are a bit cheesy, but you have to understand that they're supposed to be, and some of the songs are also really sweet!
The characters are all different and awesome and the storyline is totally insane, but, of course for comical effect. Don't watch this if your comfortable diet of film only consists of normal Mainstream Hollywood films, because you won't be comfortable with how cheesy the songs seem, or with how bold the narrative is. (it dosen't follow the normal beginning, middle and end pattern)
Unpredictable deaths, zombies and playful songs dott the entire story. Beneath all the funky dressing however there also lies a really very sweet message, and you come to understand that the strong underlying moral is of how important love and family is, and how with these things, one has the strength to overcome anything. And on watching this film you'll understand that the Katakuris definately need this family strength!!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Shinji Takeda
Kiyoshiro Imawano
Kenji Sawada
Naomi Nishida
Keiko Matsuzaka
Director(s):
Recording label: Tartan Video
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
EAN: 5023965343321
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-09-29
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Running time: 113 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)