Pão da Felicidade

Four different story in different age and life situatios are displayed in this film. Those are connected by a little cafe and bakery in a beatiful landscape at Hokkaido. All stories start with loss and suffering and strugling but with spending time at this lovely place and sharing bread all person realizes what is really important for them and find a way forward for hapiness.

It was a bit slow. I watched this for the japanese film festival 2022, and I low key regret it, but it was an experience. I missed the first five minutes and that messed me up for the rest of the movie so make sure you watch that. Yup.

Feel good stories over the importance of being together, but I feel like a mini TV show would have been a better fit for the content.

That didn't stop me from wanting to inhale all the food in this movie. Food is so essential and they presented it wonderfully.

This movie ought to make you sit back in your chair and imagine living in such a place.For me, I would sail my boat on that beautiful lake on summer afternoons and then go to Cafe Mani for Mizushima's breads and Rie-san's meals-then sail home to bed,with the sunset, smiling all the way. Basically,we follow 3 stories,the big city girl, a little girl and her divorced father,and a aged married couple-all who come under the almost zen-like spell cast by the two young owners of this café/B&B. Visually this film is astounding,everything seems so organic-there is one car,one motorcycle,one scooter and a bus-you never see anything plastic. Hats and scarves are hand-knitted,not bought. One thing left to your imagination is how hard Rie and Nao must work to run Cafe Mani,but we see more the rewards of their labor-especially through the friends and regular customers there and the amazing respect and honor people can show each other,if taught to do so... Make of this review what you will.