A lot of Japanese film makers make their 'Ozu' film, and thematically this certainly fits the Ozu mould, although perhaps wisely the film maker here doesn't try to copy the Ozu style.
The film is quite simple - it follows a young woman as she finds meaning through her weekly saturday classes on the tea ceremony. Over the years she gradually comes to appreciate the deeper meaning behind the ceremony. And that really is it. But what could be a somewhat boring film is anything but - the lovely performances and nice pacing brings us into the lives of the women who love the ceremony and it becomes all very moving, and not a little enlightening.
It is also, sadly, the last film by the great actress Kirin Kiki, but what a lovely last performance she gave us.
The film is quite simple - it follows a young woman as she finds meaning through her weekly saturday classes on the tea ceremony. Over the years she gradually comes to appreciate the deeper meaning behind the ceremony. And that really is it. But what could be a somewhat boring film is anything but - the lovely performances and nice pacing brings us into the lives of the women who love the ceremony and it becomes all very moving, and not a little enlightening.
It is also, sadly, the last film by the great actress Kirin Kiki, but what a lovely last performance she gave us.