Kamome shokudô

The plot may have the loose, humorous feel of an Aki Kaurismaki film - a compliment if there ever was one - but the style of KAMONE DINER is in many ways quite unique.

It is, basically, the story of a Japanese woman who decides to serve coffee and rice balls in Finland - and of the curious characters who walk into her life (and coffee shop). Dialog is in a mixture of Japanese and Finnish, but the visual style rich and vibrant; the use of Fuji film stock (the same type director Ozu used) gives the offers a balanced visual flavor with rich reds. The photography has a lovely sense of composition that makes each shot fascinating. After a while, the story builds a nostalgic sense of warmth and appreciation for cultural niceties - a realization that those small differences can mean a great deal, over time.

While Kaurismaki's plots seem to revolve around alcohol, KAMONE DINER is founded in caffeine and friendship. There aren't any "bad guys" to be found here, only a set of relationships based on small understandings. While one or two plot points may not make perfect sense, the basic illogic of setting a Japanese coffee shop in Finland is just strange enough to give this film an off-beat flavor that can be quite engaging. For many, drinking a bit of coffee might make the story go a little faster; I thought it was just fine the way it was.

I agree with the previous commenter, that on some level, this was an empty film. But I don't see this as a bad thing: the lack of content can be just as meaningful as the glut of it. Personally, I prefer emptiness: it leaves more room for your own thoughts.

But I wouldn't criticize this movie on its illogicalities (yes, that's a word - at least from now on): there's some very clear surrealist tendencies in the story, and it seems to me that surrealism and logic mix together just about as well as water and oil would.

All in all, I think this film is modest and well made, and even though it mightn't end up as an eternally bright beacon in the vast steppes of the cinematic arts, it sucker-punches the hell out of films that aim to be bigger and more important, but end up being useless fluff.

Some might call this simplistic, I would say efficient.

This is my first Ogigami Naoko movie, and it seems her films are known to be categorized as "healing" stories.. cultivating feelings of harmony and relaxation. So now I'll definitely search for what other entries I can find!

Anyway, while it seems to lack narrative depth, I can't help but think someone studying psychology would have a field-day with it, as if they studied a lot to come up with the core of it! Connecting with people, woes of life, belonging. Everyone has an effect on others.. showing the fact that just existing in a place leaves a mark. This is, of course, assisted by the peculiar cast of actors, the roles they play and how warm and inviting they are : Satomi Kobayashi's smile. Hairi Katagari's roughness. And Masako Motai, my favorite, portrays to perfection a lady that has worked properly her whole life and has no qualms with tackling something head on.

Some absurdity, and no straight-comedy, but still quite fun. It's very "soft" and would easily recommend it for a laid-back movie night.

This is Naoko Ogigami's third feature film, and the first Japanese film to be shot entirely in Finland, land of the midnight sun. As I mentioned in some other postings, cinema allows you to be transported to fantasy worlds, and of course in a more realistic sense, going to countries we have yet to set foot upon.

The movie is set around a Japanese diner in Finland, and its owner, Sachie (Satomi Kobayashi). The story revolves around the diner, as well as the friendships that Sachie develops, with customer and crew. The food, "soul foods" as in the menu, can make anyone salivate and feel hunger pangs, especially when the movie was screened into dinner time.

Pretty nothing much happens in Kamome Diner, except that there are plenty of people flitting in and out of the eatery. It's like watching a television series with episodes strung together, each putting the focus and theme on guest characters of the show, how they interact with the established leads. We are introduced to Sachie's first customer, a Finnish teenager who enjoys Japanese anime, and from there, one thing leads to another, as Sachie meets up with Midori (Hairi Katagiri), also another Japanese who left Japan to seek her fortunes in a strange land.

The customers in the diner is set up in the story such that it's directly proportionate to the friendships established by Sachie. It's like a vicious circle being broken, with the seizing of opportunities and the chance of befriending a customer, comes the breaking down of hesitation that others have about something that is new, something less seen, something different. And as it grows, so too does the number of friendships being formed, nurtured and developed, akin to the care put into the creation of recipes and the cooking of food.

By the end of it, everyone had undergone changes in their lives for the better, through subtle interactions, lessons learnt, and all these in a rather mundane manner of living life, in normal day to day activities.

The cast is a mix of Japanese and Finnish, and the dialogue too a mix of languages. But given its themes of friendship, belief, keeping the faith and being positive just about everything, it's ultimately a feel good movie, with plenty of subtleties, a dash of humour, and generous servings of well intentions.

The movie maintains a calm peacefulness throughout and is wholesome. The casting is perfect and the movie was a worthwhile delight.