From the director of Audition and Cityof Lost Souls
Takashi Miike's,The Happiness Of the Katakurisis a quirky, black comedy. Think Shallow Gravemeets Japanese classic cult film, Crazy Family-and now imagine it withsongs, dance numbers and animated sequences.
Loosely based on the Koreanblack comedy, Quiet Family, this extraordinary genre-blending remaketells the story of amodern dysfunctional family and their shared dreamof opening an inn in the country.Despite all their best efforts, the inn has the unfortunatehabit of attracting guests who all turn up dead inthe morning. The Katakuris do their utmost tomake a success of the placedespite the growing number of guests now planted inthe grove behind the house.
In tune with its quirky story, the film mixes moviegenres and styles with abandon. Some sequences arefilmed using claymation. As in a musical, the characterssuddenly burst into song, or spontaneously start dancing asthe mood takes them. There's even an incrediblesubplot with a Japanese conman who claims tobe the bastard son of Queen Elizabeth of England.
The movie features an all-star cast chosen fortheir acting talent and their ability tocarry a tune. Mr. Katakuri is playedby Kenji Sawada, astar from his day with the rock band, the Tigersand as an actor (The Man Who Stole the Sun,Mishima). Keiko Matsuzaka (Sting of Death, Ping Pong) plays hislong-suffering wife, Naomi Nishida (Nabi's Love) plays the daughterand Shinji Takeda (Gohatto, Pulse, Tokyo Eyes)takes on the role ofthe useless son. Rock star Kiyoshiro Imawano playsthe slightly foreign-looking conman in anaval uniform.
A black comic musical that will have viewers cheering forthe Katakuri family asthey battle against the odds...and the bodies.
- NTSC Region 1
- Anamorphic Widescreen
- Japanese Audio
- English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary By Director Takashi Miike
- The Making of Happiness of Katakuris:
- TV Spots
- Interview With director Takashi Miike
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