Naomi Kawase's SWEET BEAN Opens in Los Angeles Today

Acclaimed Japanese director Naomi Kawase's SWEET BEAN, a poignant and exquisite intergenerational drama about three characters finding connection with one another in the most unexpected ways, opens in Los Angeles today, Friday, April 8 at Laemmle Royal (11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West LA) and Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

In Ms. Kawase's graceful tale adapted from the novel by Durian Sukegawa, introverted loner Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase, Mystery Train) runs a tiny "dorayaki" (pancakes filled with "an,"a sweet red bean paste) stand in the suburbs of Tokyo. When 76-year-old Tokue (veteran actress Kirin Kiki, Still Walking, Chronicle of My Mother), persistently asks Sentaro to work in the shop's kitchen, he reluctantly accepts. It soon turns out that in addition to having uncanny culinary skills (her "an" is much more delicious than Sentaro's) and a mysterious communion with nature, Tokue has the ability to transform those around her, including Wakana (newcomer Kyara Uchida, real-life granddaughter of Kirin Kiki), a shy teenage schoolgirl who's a regular at the shop. Thanks to Tokue's sweet bean recipe, the little business soon flourishes, and with time, Sentaro and Tokue open their hearts to reveal old wounds and painful secrets.

Born and raised in Nara, Japan, writer-director Naomi Kawase has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival since 1997 when she became the youngest director to win the Camera d'Or (Best First Film Award) for her debut feature Suzaku. With her fourth feature, The Mourning Forest, she received the 2007 Cannes Grand Prix, and became, in 2013, the first Japanese director to serve on the Cannes competition jury. Known for her introspective and poetic fiction works focusing on family and the characters' connection to nature, she also directed two autobiographical documentaries, Embracing, and Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, in which she examined the loss of being abandoned by her parents as a child.

Written and directed by Naomi Kawase. Based on the novel An by Durian Sukegawa. Cinematography by Shigeki Akiyama. Music by David Hadjadj. Starring Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida, Miyoko Asada, Etsuko Ichihara. A Kino Lorber release.

RUNNING TIME: 113 MINUTES / RATING: NOT RATED

IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Watch the trailer below!

To post a comment, you must register and login.