La Mélodie du malheur

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.

When you think about Japanese cinema, what comes to your mind? I'm sure it's movies like Audition, Ichi the Killer, et cetera. Nine times out of ten, you'd guess it's a horror movies, but nine times out of ten you wouldn't guess a comedy. Even less, you'd say a musical. But if you combine all three, you get The Happiness of the Katakuris, a crazy hybrid (directed, ironically, by the guy who directed the aforementioned Audition) of the three. Actually, four, since I just remembered about the animation. This four-genre film is far from perfect, but it's pretty damn good for the combination of the genres.

The Katakuri clan owns a guest house on Mt. Fuji, because they hear a road will be built leading up to the house, therefore, much business. However, the road hasn't been built yet, the Katakuris haven't had a single guest, and Shizue (Naomi Nishida) is recently divorced. Soon, however, she finds Richard Sagawa (Kiyoshiro Imawano), and they fall in love. But is everything what it seems? And once the first guest comes, he mysteriously dies (Murder? Suicide? the song-complete with smoke and blue lights-asks). Soon more guests come, they all die, and the Katakuris have to bond together to figure out a solution to this problem.

The movie starts off with a couple minutes of claymation that serves as an odd transition to the actual story. I guess it was a pretty low-budget movie, because for two other "action-packed" scenes, claymation is also used. It works well in the context of the story, but a little unexpected, too. It's not jarring or anything, and the clay characters look like the real ones (as much as possible), so that's good. Some of the humor comes from the obvious (when the father is swinging on a swing he claims to safe, it breaks), some from the absurd (a man singing in a music video in drag, obviously, that everyone thinks is a woman), and some comes from the quirkiness of the musical numbers, like that aforementioned one. There's also a delirious ballad, some slow songs, and some joyous ones. There's even a sing-along. There're some lulls in between songs, as expected in all musicals, but you'd be surprised how much reading subtitles doesn't distract you from the songs. It's just like reading subtitles throughout a film. It is a bit weird during the sing-along, though.

It's not really a "true" horror, although there's a few gruesome images, and the themes are quite dark. They're presented humorously, though, and that's all that counts. Taken apart, each lacks. The comedy's not hilarious, the horror's not scary, the animation's just random, and the musical numbers, except for a few, aren't really memorable. But I still think you should see it. I'll bet that you've never seen anything like it before, and you probably never will until Hollywood remakes it.

My rating: 7/10

Rated R for violent images and some sexual content.

The maverick like Takashi Miike, who sends up Japanese culture in many of his films, directed this film about a family who have a guest house in the middle of nowhere, where the (few) lodgers end up dead by morning. And, its a musical! The film is all over the map and even includes some claymation. It is not bad, but it is somewhat uneven. I wish I cared more for the characters, they are somewhat one dimensional. However, Takashi is always interesting as a film maker, so I do recommend it, but he has done better. Its strange in its approach, a black comedy if you will. Once you understand it, you can watch it. Be warned, though, its a little out there.

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.

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.