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The Taste of Tea
List Price: $24.98Our Price: $21.99 You Save: $2.99 (12%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0896911001027
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, NTSC
Label: VIZ Pictures
Languages: Japanese (Original Language),
Manufacturer: VIZ Pictures
MPN: YTTT1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: VIZ Pictures
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 03, 2007
Running Time: 143 minutes
Studio: VIZ Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
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Editorial Review:
Like Ozu's Tokyo Story, The Taste of Tea takes the long view of a Japanese family, though the eccentric Harunos are unconcerned with the moral quandaries Ozu's characters typically face. Director Katsuhito Ishii, known in America for his animated sequence in Kill Bill Pt. 2, gives the viewer a comedic slice of life in this artistic family's rural village. With a mother reentering the animation business, a musical grandfather conceptually akin to Yoko Ono, and a hypnotist father, siblings Hajime (Takahiro Sato) and Sachiko (Maya Banno) have the mental freedom to roam deep into imagined worlds that comprise the film's core. Hajime's infatuation with a girl at school becomes an obsession that bears fruit due to his commitment to meeting her. Sachiko's giant ghost follows her, leading her to believe that if she can master a back flip on the gym bars that she will scare the ghost away. The Taste of Tea relies upon odd, awkward moments of reflection or confusion. Hajime isn't sure what to make of his Uncle Ayano's (Tadanobu Asano) story involving a chicken egg in the forest. Similarly, Sachiko runs for her life when a man emerges out of the mud next to her. The absurdity in the narrative is underscored by visual impossibilities, for example a train rushing out of Hajime's head, and other bizarre live-action animation. Interestingly, each character's dilemma is based on external forces. Tensions between family members are non-existent in The Taste of Tea, reinforcing the idea that artistic minds must stick together in an increasingly unpredictable world. --Trinie Dalton
Meet the Harunos, a rather unconventional, but happy and loving family nonetheless. They live in a small town in the mountains just out of Tokyo where life is good and quiet - but that doesn't mean they don't have their own little problems.As 8-year old Sachiko (Maya Banno) tries to get rid of a giant version of herself who seems to pop up everywhere, her older brother Hajime (Takahiro Sato), privately wrestles with his love-struck heart. Meanwhile, their mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is working hard, coming out of retirement as an animator, as her husband and professional hypnotist Nobuo (Tomokazu Miura) watches on with slight apprehension. Yoshiko's brother, Ayano (Tadanobu Asano) is just visiting his hometown and staying with the family, but also has ashidden agenda; he needs to come to terms with a romance that ended years ago. Even Nobuo's brother and successful manga artist Todoroki has his problems. It's his birthday soon and he wants to give himself something special. And lastly there's Grandpa, the most bizarre and perhaps the most perceptive of all, who continues to search for a better way to live life to the full.Written, directed and edited by Katsuhito ISHII, The Taste of Tea is a unique and gentle family portrait tackling the universal themes of time, people and their lives.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Movie about "Nothing"...But There's Something!
A movie about "Nothing"---but there is something. THE TASTE OF TEA is the handiwork of Katsushito Ishii, the director of the acclaimed cult hit "Party 7" and "Funky Forest: First Contact". Now, I'll go straight to the point, this film is about family, anime, a boy's young love, a young girl's journey through childhood, with very simple execution. If you're looking for a movie with a steadfast destination, then this movie may not be for you or if you want to use puns, not your cup of tea. However, ... Read More
Rating: - Visually pleasing
This is a visually pleasing film, full of unexpected beauty. It is about unusual Japanese family living in mountain. Family consists of artists, visual and musical and the head of the family happens to be a hypnotist who enhances their imagination with unexected hypnotic sessions. Each family member is going thru significant changes in life. Mom, who is animator is trying to get back into workforce, young boy is coming of age is hopelessly falling in love with very pretty newcomer girl into his ... Read More
Rating:  - Could have been great if there had been some grown-ups in the editing room.
The movie is over two hours and twenty minutes long, and would have been much better with about 45 minutes or so left on the cutting room floor.
It's too bad because the story-telling could quite have been quite good had it been a little more focused. Ishii could have used a trusted friend insisting that he cut his favorite parts.
The story he is mostly charming, but suffers from too many subplots. In fact pretty much everything is a subplot because there are so many characters. ... Read More
Rating:  - Well...
...all I will add is that this movie begs you to watch it over and over again. It is an absolute charmer, the type of which cannot be found in (modern) American movies. Which is a terrible shame.
Rating: - a well made cup of tea
I bought this movie on a whim and I was very pleasantly surprised. The story and characters are quirky yet endearing on many levels - the grandfather in particular is priceless. It is a modern tale of an artistic family living in a suburb of Tokyo - very pastoral scenery, but very urban neuroses. It is an artistic rendering of everyday situations that make you want to laugh and cry. It is also a kaleidoscope of Yakuza thugs, hypnosis therapy, artistic integrity, letting go of a relationship, mixing music in ... Read More
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