Sweet Bean (2015)

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A sweet story about strangers who meet and giving chances to people around you, as well as having a second chance in life. The main characters are outcasts by their society, misfits that they work together to produce the best sweet red bean paste pan cakes that quickly become popular. There is tragedy in the movie, but the makeshift family that those misfits create is sweet, as only those three could understand and support each other. The performances are great, without overdoing it with the dramatic element and thus making everything more realistic. The scenes are beautiful, with the spring cherry blossoms the meddle with the people's tragedies. Overall, a nice film, so 6 out of 10. PS even my mom who avoids Japanese (and non English films in general) loved it, if that helps.

"Sweet Bean" is a small, reflective movie that depicts the relationship between a guy working at a dorayaki shop, a sweet filled with 'an' (the reason for its original title), an old lady that appears out of nowhere and tries to convince him to employ her at his shop, and a young high school student who has her own problems with her family. Little by little, they become close to each other, a bond is created and they get a glimpse into their respective pasts.Naomi Kawase normally does slow-burning movies, with a relaxed atmosphere, long takes and centering on the actors and their exchanges. "Sweet Bean" is not an exception and the actors answer with great performances all around (even sometimes histrionic Kirin Kiki, here very tone down and contemplative). The plot may seem simple, but it has different layers, which will grip the viewer, making them not only enjoy, but also think.There are a couple of shaky points, though. First, the pace suffers in some moments, being a little bit brusque, some plot developments a little bit out of the blue. The second is that the last act is a little bit overlong and/or in-your-face."Sweet Bean" will be enjoyed by everyone. And make you hungry.

...after ten minutes or so I knew that this film was worth to watch. the actors; the pace; the cinematography showing all those sakura trees were perfect.No doubt that Kirin Kiki is the movie herself but Masatoshi Nagase with his silence and sad face works for me too. Of course to have a good script and director sure help a lot but they captured the mood the right way.Sometimes we cannot do or see the simply things because life gets on us; sometimes we have the problem; in our minds, souls or bodies. Life is so good for many but a pain for many others too; so depends on what side of the coin you are to live a full one; however, the script is telling us that if you are one that carry one of these big problems better to try to take the best out of you and do it the best possible way without fall too deep. You know, there s no choices, until dead comes...Kyara Uchida is the third important character here; her roll is a shy but independent teenager that are somewhat on her own due to her mother does not act as one.In real life she is the granddaughter of Kirin Kiki.

The manager of a small pancake stall finds his product is suddenly a neighbourhood sensation after an old woman shows up and changes his recipe. But old prejudices rear their head to scupper short-lived happiness.This is a relatively prosaic outing for writer-director Kawase, a film that eschews the lyricism and frustratingly enigmatic self-orientalising tropes of Moe no Suzaku or Mogari no Mori, for a greater concern with narrative cause-and-effect. Masatoshi Nagase is suitably brooding and mysterious as the weary manager of the stall, tolerant if not indulgent of the inane chatter of schoolgirls who occupy his workplace like a clubhouse. Kirin Kiki is her usual charismatic and maverick self, managing to bring humanity and pathos to a role that could easily have been cloying and maudlin. The storyline of the older women bringing hope to a man with a crushing past works well, Tokue proving a catalyst to stop the manager going through the motions and start living again. The film also functions as an educational piece on the discrimination historically meted out to sufferers of Hansen's disease, or leprosy, in Japan. This part is less effective, following the well-worn trope of having a schoolkid come along so the adults can relate the hidden history she knows nothing about. Heavy-handed and flat, it ill-serves the narrative, and slightly trivializes an ugly but fascinating aspect of Japan's social history.Kawase does not totally leave behind her shamanistic/animistic leanings: there are the usual hand-held shots of sunlight glinting through treetops, and some cod-philosophy on the power of the moon. She hones excellent performances from Kirin and especially Nagase, whose edges seem all too brittle and authentic. A small film with a big heart, that makes a quiet but powerful point.