Samurai Swing

This is a short, sweet film about a father-son relationship in small-town Alberta, at the Samurai Cafe. Tim, the son and apparently only child, dreams of becoming a lounge singer and doesn't have much interest in working at the restaurant, founded by his Japanese grandfather. His father is disturbed by Tim's attitude, reminding him how Tim's grandfather had started the restaurant from nothing and worked hard to make it a success. (We can assume the grandfather had lost everything during the Second World War, when Japanese-Canadians were interned and their property confiscated).

Samurai Swing has a satisfying conclusion, and is well worth viewing for its glimpse of small-town prairie life and the sensitivity with which it approaches the generational differences and expectations in this parent-child relationship.