Kamome Diner (2006) @ かもめ食堂

"Wanna try our kopi luak?

At a glance:
The people from the Land Of The Rising Sun tryin to carve out a life in the Land Of The Midnight Sun – it can't get more ironic than that! Yet, Kamome Diner かもめ食堂 isn’t about dissent or conflict; instead it’s about celebratin the wonderful details in life which escape us every day. You can read on its official website (still up today!) that the story is based on a novel written by popular writer Yoko Mure who apparently has countless female fans for her emotional portrayal of people livin modest lives. Mure wrote the full-length novel in response to the film’s idea for production. It’s said to be an unusual novel, which fully captures the atmosphere of the city’s street corner, although Mure herself has never been to Finland (which by the way, is apparently the closest European country to Japan via a 10 hour flight from Tokyo). Sachie (Satomi Kobayashi) is a Japanese woman who runs a diner (she insists it’s not a restaurant because "that’s too formal") in Helsinki, Finland. Nobody visits her Kamome (Japanese for 'seagull') diner except Tommi, a young blonde Finn who loves Japanese manga. Soon Sachie meets Midori (Hairi Katagiri), an awkward woman who lands in Helsinki with no real reason. The two make quick friends as business start to pick up due to their patient, unassumin approach to the locals. When lost 'tourist' Masako (Masako Motai) joins the fray, these Japanese women truly find the meanin of life, as they realise that everythin which is important usually isn’t!
Bad news on the doorstep:

None, really. I could write that synopsis a hundred times but still wouldn’t capture the precise flavour of the film. That’s because Kamome Diner is such a quiet little gem of a movie that offers somethin for every kind of viewer. It’s drama, it’s comedy and sometimes even social commentary – but whatever it is, it’s very gentle and dignified, never succumbin to pushy, message-driven plot devices. The performances here are top-notch, my favourite being the maternal Masako Motai (fabulous in director Naoko Ogigami’s first feature film Yoshino’s Barber Shop – but take nothin away from the cast because everyone delivered a satisfyin dimension to the film.
Perennial wonderment:
How do you sing the theme song to the Gatchaman cartoon (G-Force to Malaysian kids in the 80s)?

Reminds me of:

Director Naoko Ogigami's other movie that I enjoyed - Yoshino's Barber Shop (2004) @ バーバー吉野. This one's better, though.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
With its host of colourful, quirky and mostly rootless characters, it’s difficult not to find yourself fixated on the story, despite there not being much of one! Everythin happens by chance and people come largely unexplained. This makes it fun to watch because the character build-up is more gradual and natural, much like how we talk to strangers. The entire film could be said to be a conversation between strangers – and we don’t need to be bogged down by the harsh realities of distrust. The characters take each other as they are – and invite us to do the same. Shot with such delightful and rich observations on geography and society, the film has immense international appeal. Kamome Diner opens doors and builds bridges, invitin people in for a look at what’s on the cultural menu, without askin for too much thought or attention. We feel optimistic about life again and for once, feel-good cinema never felt so easy to believe. ★★★ 1/2

Trailer for the curious:

Yoshino's Barber Shop (2004) @ バーバー吉野

Clearly you might have been born in the wrong generation
not to have known this tactile pleasure.

At a glance:

Masako Motai

In Naoko Ogigami's debut feature, we have one annoyingly low-key movie about small town sentiments against modern change. Told through a few central characters with the main plot device being a compulsory haircut on school children, one would not have expected the film to be such an effective, although slow, social commentary. In sleepy Kaminoe, the good people live a life of silent rigidity - people wake up, get hurried to finish their breakfast, go to work or school, come home to dinner and sleep by night - only to do the same thing again tomorrow. The social structure that enshrines their way of life is never better represented than by the Yoshino haircut - a ridiculous bowl-shaped style, forced into the minds (and onto the heads) of young children through tradition without question. Rattlin their universe of meanin is Yosuke (Hoshi Ishida), a student from Tokyo who waltzes in with his swanky J-pop hair. His refusal to accept the Yoshino haircut triggers an awakenin amongst the townsfolk - where does it say that we all need to be the same?
Bad news on the doorstep:
This movie projects a stubborn lack of urgency. Yet the quiet charm of the story may just win those who'd give it a chance after being initially interested by the colourful characters.

"With the right set of underwear,
I will win me a man."

Reminds me of:
Schoolin days. This film is gentle but very ambitious. The humour sits you down and not up, and sometimes borders on tasteless - but always believable because life is sometimes, exactly like that. Yoshiko's ball-bustin character (played by the wonderful Masako Motai) evoke memories of the strict woman discipline teacher in anyone who was ever a schoolkid, but colourful characters like these, especially the village madman who does nothin but chase people about, are visual representations of the central discussion - do we really need to conform to be accepted? Consider the retrenched father who is strugglin to be accepted for a job, yet when he sings in the bath out of a sudden unexplained joy, he's quickly told by his wife not to disturb the neighbours. Consider also the sexy sister, who buys the reddest, most attractive lingerie to be accepted by her boyfriend. These are the lives of people who are livin for others, more than for themselves. Yet director Ogigami provides redemption and wrote them all a way out - to first learn to accept themselves.
Most memorable line:
A father in the film would tell his son: "Bein an adult simply means bein considerate to others."
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Go watch this movie but don't come back askin for me to be given a Yoshino haircut if you didn't like it.★★★

Trailer for the curious: