The Happiness of the Katakuris

Some directors have a clearly defined and instantly identifiable style that makes their films impossible to mistake as the work of another. Think of David Lynch, or Martin Scorsese, or Wes Anderson. You can generally tell pretty quickly when one of their films begin that it's a work of their art because of their particular, distinct style and approach. Though there are many similar threads and stylizations that run through Takashi Miike's films, the only thing consistent about his cinematic style is that it is ever changing.

Loosely based on Kim Jee-woon's 'The Quiet Family,' 'The Happiness of the Katakuris' is a black-comedy musical that is as bizarre as it is entertaining. It follows the titular family as they open a bed and breakfast nestled in the foothills of a volcano. They believe a new road is being built nearby that will bring them customers a-plenty. However, the only visitors they receive are strange, introverted people who mysteriously and consistently pass away shortly after check-in. The Katakuris dispose of the bodies, but they keep piling up; and the machinations of a suave conman threaten to expose the bloody fiasco once and for all.

It's a very strange film from a director who specializes in them. The tale is truly unpredictable, quite funny and surprisingly heartfelt. The importance of the family unit is made quite clear through the wild, wacky story, as well as the idea that one shouldn't fear death. It is a certainty, and the film treats it as the natural part of life that it is; not as something to be feared. While this is hardly the main thrust of the narrative, it is a welcome additional element. The comedic antics of the family- trying in vain to control a situation getting dangerously out of hand- is the main focus, which makes for an eccentric and entertaining viewing experience; even if the latter half gets to be a little overly frenzied.

The film is rife with musical numbers, which seem to pop up at random, and are hilarious and surprisingly catchy. The choreography to them resembles the videos that would go along with the music in a cheap karaoke bar, and will really make you laugh. The songs themselves- composed and written by Kôji Endô and Kôji Makaino- are all snappy and memorable, in terms of lyrics and melody. 'Everyone Is In Love' is a real corker that you'll surely be humming for a long time; it burrows its' way into your subconscious like an earwig.

Visually, the film is less exciting. Hideo Yamamoto is a fine cinematographer, who has done striking work in films like 'Hana-Bi' and 'Why Don't You Play In Hell,' but his efforts here don't come to much. The whole film looks like it was shot on video and made for television, lacking the flair usually associated with both Miike and Yamamoto. It is not terrible by any means, merely average work that is rather underwhelming.

The cast are all brilliant, in terms of singing, dancing and acting. In fact, as the film is an ensemble piece and everyone performs wonderfully, it's difficult to single out any one person to discuss or applaud. However, it's not impossible; so let us speak of the late Kiyoshiro Imawano. He plays the conman, who goes by the name Richard Sagawa, claims to be related to the English aristocracy and sports a crisp white naval officer's uniform- even while trawling through bogs. He is hilarious, completely unhinged and excessively corybantic. Sagawa plays the seedy but charming character perfectly, all but stealing the show with his delightful madness.

'The Happiness of the Katakuris' is a madcap melodrama featuring murder, mayhem and music. Takashi Miike once again proves he can do anything he puts his mind to in movie-making terms, cementing his reputation as one of cinema's most versatile directors. As funny as it is strange, the film features excellent performances from the cast and some terrific songs that linger in the mind long after the credits have rolled. It's certainly not for everyone, and it's by no means Miike's best effort, but if you like the strange, the humorous and the abstract; you can't go wrong with 'The Happiness of the Katakuris:' it's fabulous, frantic and fiendishly fun.

When I bought "The Happiness of the Katakuris" from Amazon it was under the impression that it was a musical with zombies, plus it is a Takashi Miike movie, two good things combined, or so it would appear.

First of all, you had to wait 76 minutes into the movie before the zombies make their appearance, and then even so, you see them for less than 5 minutes. So don't acquire this movie under the impression that it is a zombie musical, which I did. You will be sorely disappointed.

I do enjoy Takashi Miike's work and have most of it on DVD, this however, I will say it not amongst his best work. Sure the movie in itself was entertaining enough, it had a perverse dark comical touch to it, which is one of Takashi Miike's trademarks. But the movie was fairly slowly moving with very little actually happening, which in my opinion weighed the movie down.

Also, the DVD cover has 'the hills are alive with the sound of screaming!' boasted on the front cover. Yeah, that was false advertising of a grand scale. And on the back of the cover it boasted 'The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead" ... yeah, right!

The story itself was entertaining, especially since all those people tragically died at the family's guest-house, which was kind of strange and coincidental. And the family itself was quite interesting and weird at the same time. The characters in the movie were nicely portrayed and had lots of depths to them, which really worked in favor of the movie. And the make-up of the zombies was actually quite good, I enjoyed that quite a lot, even though it was less than 5 minutes of screen time.

If you enjoy Asian musicals, then "The Happiness of the Katakuris" is perhaps a great choice for you, personally, I enjoyed the Korean musical "The Fox Family" a lot more than I did this movie. But hey, it is all a matter of preference.

Masao Katakuri (Kenji Sawada) has moved his family--his wife, his divorced daughter, her child, his formerly criminal son and his father--to the country, near Mt. Fuji. He purchased a large old home with the intention of converting it into a kind of bed & breakfast, since the road running nearby is supposed to be expanded, which would bring tourists. But the road hasn't been expanded yet and the Katakuris subsequently have no guests. When one finally shows up, mysteriously, he commits suicide during the night. They hide the body to avoid bad publicity. But they seem to be in a patch of bad luck, and more things begin to go wrong. Through it all, however, the family sticks together and sings happy songs.

Oh how I wanted to give this film a 10! It has so many elements I love. It's an absurdist mix of horror, surrealism, a musical, claymation, a black comedy, and one of those progressively "going to hell in a handbasket" films ala After Hours (1985), Very Bad Things (1998) or My Boss' Daughter (2003). Unfortunately, Happiness of the Katakuris suffers a bit from being unfocused. All of the individual elements are superb, but director Takashi Miike simply abandons too many interesting threads and the film ends up feeling more like a loose collection of skits. If it were tied together better, this would easily be a 10.

Happiness of the Katakuris, which is a "mutated" remake Ji-woon Kim's Choyonghan kajok (The Quiet Family, 1998), begins with a restaurant scene that ends up being unrelated to the rest of the film. While a woman is eating, a strange creature appears in her soup. This initiates a long sequence of claymation. The creature is a small, skinny, albino, white-eyed "demon" who wakes up from being stabbed in the neck with a fork and proceeds to rip out his would-be-consumer's uvula, which he turns into a heart-shaped balloon. The claymation has a strong Tim Burton feel ala The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and provides a wonderfully surreal and somewhat gory version of a "circle of life", also known as a food chain. At this point I was completely loving the film.

Oddly, Miike drops this material and we go back to a standard live-action mode as we learn about the Katakuris, initially from narration by toddler Yurie (Tamaki Miyazaki). I kept thinking that the claymation demons would return somehow, but they're forgotten about, even if claymation eventually makes a return later in the film, with a style more reminiscent of Bruce Bickford, who did the claymation in Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes (1979).

Fortunately, the Katakuris are intriguing in their own right, and for a long time the film settles into more of a quirky art-house drama style, albeit with a darker edge due to the fate of the hotel's guests. During this period, a romance subplot enters as we meet Richado Sagawa (Kiyoshiro Imawano), who is courting Katakuri divorcée Shizue (Naomi Nishida).

There are a few interesting musical numbers, and the love song between Richado and Shizue has attractive, bright production design. Although some of the songs were a bit bland to me--I prefer the music of, say, Jisatsu saakuru (Suicide Club, 2002)--they are all intriguingly staged, ranging from spoofs of rock videos to The Sound of Music (1965). Miike keeps a wicked sense of humor going throughout the film--there is something funny about most of the characters, most of the ways the characters relate to each other, and most of the scenarios.

All of the technical elements in the film are superb. Miike treats us to a lot of interesting cinematography, the location/setting of the Katakuri home is wonderful, and the performances are good.

Later, Miike shoots for more of a madcap Monty Pythonesque style, complete with "zombies" nodding their heads and toe-tapping to a song (ala the Camelot dungeon prisoner in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975, or the group of people being crucified in Life of Brian, 1979). The latter reference is particularly apt, as the "message" of The Happiness of the Katakuris, insofar as there is one, ends up being remarkably similar to the message of the song "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian. Namely, life is short and often brutal, so we should focus on enjoying ourselves and having a good time with others while we're here; and once we're gone, others should celebrate our life and the time we had on the Earth rather than mourning our passing--somewhat like the funerals in some Caribbean cultures, which involve joyous singing and dancing rather than dour moping and tears.

Those are messages that I couldn't agree with more. It's just too bad that Miike couldn't have made the film a bit tighter, but even as loose as it is, you can't afford to miss this one if you have a taste for anything more unusual/surreal.

Please excuse me while I take my jaw off the floor... Whew! Okay, so Miike's movies are always full of genre-busting surprises, and I should have known what to expect with 'The Happiness Of The Katakuris', but NOTHING could have prepared me for what a nutty movie experience this is! A feel-good cheesy musical full of claymation and some singing and dancing zombies?!! I loved every minute of it! The actors playing the Katakuris were all good, but Kiyoshiro Imawano stole every scene he was in. He played "Richard Sagawa" the charming conman who romances Shizue. As soon as he broke into song I was laughing hysterically! If you are looking for something unusual then head straight for the Katakuris! I highly recommend this highly original and entertaining movie.

A note to those who are familiar with other films directed by Miike. Although some of his other films have been very violent and disturbing (such as AUDITION), this film is completely unlike these films and is a must-see. This is NOT a violent or overly bloody film despite there being zombies mid-way through the movie!

I love foreign films, so I am VERY willing to watch a wide variety of strange and sometimes "artsy-fartsy" films. However, my wife and I have urged our friends to see this film and all agree that it is a real gem. It is important that you watch the movie with an open mind, as the first few minutes of the film are, believe it or not, done in claymation! Then, it fades to the present-day Japan and the totally bizarre adventures that occur to a genuinely nice Japanese family. Through no fault of their own, this family's bed and breakfast seems to attract patrons fated to die (in rather comical ways, at that). The family's response? Simple--break into SONG!!! The songs are meant to be very silly and overly dramatic and turn out to be GREAT FUN!! The best of these has got to be the song and dance number featuring this sweet family and zombies (dead hotel guests). I'm sure NONE of this sounds funny or charming, but it is without a doubt both of these things as well as, believe it or not, a family values-affirming film.

The bottom line is, if you are brave and want something that is TOTALLY unpredictable and engaging, watch this film ASAP! Also, if you like weird and surreal musicals, I also recommend the Dutch film, YES SISTER NO SISTER.