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SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

largu Yes, so I gave "The taste of tea" a full 10 score. It's not something I do lightly, mind you. How come a whimsical, Japanese, slice-of-life flick makes me go to such length? Let me count the ways...Ishii has, as many contemporary Asian directors, shown much promise but never really gone all the way. However, the first time I read about "The taste of tea" I got the feeling that 'this might be the one', and yes, finally, it was.The story revolve around a family with unusual, but not unbelievable people who go about their slightly odd, but not unconvincing lives. It's all a bit like in those "celebration of life" type of movies which were banned during the sixties, or at least moved to Balkan; But slower. Much slower. In a good way. Is that even possible? Yes it is. The younger son in the family is more of the main character than the others but his story is strangely enough the one that touches me the least. His the little sister is far more interesting with her BIG imaginary-friend problem. My favourite of the lot is of course grandpa, an retired animator who spends his time enjoying life and coming up with fantastic songs like "Why are you a triangle?" and "The mountain is alive". "The mountain is alive" has nothing to do with "sound of music" but its performance would still beat Julie Andrews any day, at lest in the eyebrow-bowlcut-polyester-and-pure-style area.And yes, the style... Call it impressionism or magic realism but the heightened visual language actually works here. There are some computer graphics but its made with a big pounding digital heart. Watching "Taste of tea" is like taking a stroll on a nice spring day. Its beautifully executed with charm, wit, soul, and dare I say it... sublimity? It soothes the mind and it even makes me like humanity, something which requires an ever increasingly effort these days. Sure, its not for everyone but since I'm reviewing it now, I call it one of the very few flawless gems out there. Pure bliss.

roland-104 "Cha no aji" (U.S. title: "The Taste of Tea") is an imaginative, visually pleasing, quietly meditative and occasionally surreal series of reflections on the daily life of an extended family who live in a rural village within commuting distance of Tokyo, where the father, Nobuo, carries on a clinical hypnosis practice. His principal challenge in life is not clearly articulated, but life tasks facing the others are clear, and we follow them closely. Yoshiko, the mother, is an animation artist attempting to resume her career outside the creative milieu of the urban studio. Teenage son Hajime struggles to find peer acceptance and wonders how to approach a new girl he has a crush on. Six year old Sachiko needs to overcome her intriguingly represented self consciousness. Grandfather Akira, possibly a retired actor, tries to stay fit and aids Yoshiko in her drawings (by posing as a model in various fighting postures), while secretly preparing gifts to leave behind for the others when he departs this world. Yoshiko's wild brother Ayano shows up from the city to visit. He's been adrift since the love of his life married someone else. This captivating series of portraits is not without a few incomprehensible ripples. Why on earth do huge turds keep appearing in unlikely places? What's that unnamed guy doing buried up to his chin in mud? Thomas Moore (who wrote "Care of the Soul") would probably call these symbols of soulfulness, but who knows. Chalk up some of the curiosities here to the zany aesthetic of the filmmaker, a buddy of Quentin Tarantino's, who, among other accomplishments, created the fabulous animation sequence in "Kill Bill, Vol. 1," arguably the best sequence in that film.

Gigo_Satana You know, family films just aren't what they used to be, and what a wonderful notion that is. The only Ishii film that I've seen prior to The Taste of Tea is Shark Skin Man and Hip Peach Girl, and the maturity level of the director was almost unrecognizable.At first everything in this film feels strangely secluded from the everyday world; the school, the house and the family members who seem extremely timid. The rarely displayed state of normality in family films, as supposed to the somewhat redundant tales of kindred conflicts that Ishii was able to capture, transcended in a refreshing and mesmerizing manner. The behavior of each family member was played out so naturally by the actors that I felt like I was watching a documentary. When the so called "unusual traits" of the family members resurfaces, the transformation is executed smoothly, without wandering off into another genre or changing the intended mood of the film.I rarely get behind ensemble casts but I hope Ishii will maintain the relationship with these actors for his future projects. Asano as always breathes the ethereally inner distance, yet still feels humanely connected to the world and people in it. No matter how often the word 'subtle' is used to describe films, in reality I think it is a rare achievement. Ishii did a great job of taking his time to let us observe each family member as they go through their daily routines and as they attentively take time to watch over each other.After seeing her in Kamikaze Girls, I was hoping to see and especially hear more from Anna Tsuchiya, who I think has a great future ahead of her.I think every bit of detail obtained from the comments and even the poster should give you an idea about what type of film this is. It's comforting to know that in this day and age certain directors don't feel the financial and mainstream strain, and willingly dedicate their time and passion to making such wonderful films.

whofartedrecs Wow, I just got finished watching this fantastic flick and I gotta say, it's well worth seeking out. Because of the comic book nihilism of his first two films, Ishii perhaps has been unfairly lumped in with the Tarantino-wannabe crowd. But Cha no Aji is sure to show those critics another side of a very talented director.While I'm a fan of all three films, I think this movie is Ishii's best to date. It's got his trademark eccentric characters and meandering plot lines, but here he takes his flights of creative fancy to new heights. In categorizing this film, if that is indeed possible, I am reminded of the whimsical let-it-fly-ish-ness of Juzo Itami's more playful works.Cha no Aji brings you in to the world of an unusually quirky family, whose actions at first seem not of this world. Before you are able to ask yourself what the hell is going, you're drawn in, following several strange story lines, which are just as out there as they are touching and human. Before you know it, the characters become a part of you and you're finding a little bit of yourself within each one. Yes, even the seemingly senile grandpa. (Just wait, you'll see.) This movie hits on many levels. It's touching. Hilarious. Bizarre (at times almost in a Hausu kinda way). Pregnant with ideas. And most importantly... inspired! To top it off, the soundtrack is provided by the most excellent soca-flavored dub band Little Tempo, who have an impressive discography and are well worth checking out if good honest dub is your thing.What a movie!