Sweet movie on the menu
THREE stories, centring on the lives of ordinary people, unfold as customers visit an alley restaurant operated by the “master” (Kaoru Kobayashi). This is the premise of to be screened at the Japan Film Festival 2017.
Director Joji Matsuoka
2014) uses commentaries by the eatery’s regular customers to carry the drama of the stories. It’s a bit like listening to gossip at a party, with non-narrative parts connected through the camera lens. But
is a gentle telling, written again by Yaro Abe, the man behind Japan’s longrunning manga, which has spawned a four-season television series as well as Korean and Chinese adaptations.
The first story is about Noriko Akatsuka (Aoba Kawai) who always dresses herself in mourning black attire to reflect her stress from work, as she tells the Master.
At a funeral for her suddenly-dead client, she meets a charming guy (Koichi Sato). As luck would have it, he turns out to be something else.
Another story centres on soba noodle eatery owner Seiko Takagi (Midoriko Kimura), who is worried about her son Seita (Sosuke Ikematsu) and his lack of interest in the family business.
During one of her visits to the Midnight Diner, she meets Saori (Hijiri Kojima) and finds her very engaging. It turns out that her son wants to marry Saori, who is 15 years his senior.
Lastly comes the cute ageing woman, Yukiko (Misako Watanabe), who is tricked into handing over millions of yen to allegedly help her son.
It turns out that she had abandoned the kid when he was young. Realising she might have been a victim of a scam, her female cab driver brings her to the policeman of the eatery’s neighbourhood.
The cop takes Yukiko to the Midnight Diner, thinking that some food may cheer her up.
Some of the regular customers of the Midnight Diner.
When the regular customers learn of her story, they pitch in to help and she gets some form of reconciliation, if not the money.
Throughout the movie, food plays a central role. Who orders what, and even why, is discussed.
For instance, Noriko orders fried meat to give herself some fighting spirit in her job as a literary editor. Yukiko orders the house dish, which is the only item listed on the wall, as she had given that to her young
son so very long ago.
It’s a sweet movie, with tales that flow gently through the dishes ordered by the regular customers. As for the food featured, all I can say is, Oooiiishii!
is on the menu of the 14th JFFF which kicks off Sept 7 in Golden Screen Cinemas in the Klang Valley, before travelling to Penang, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu till Oct 1. Details at www.jfkl.org. my.