by Robert Firsching
synopsis
The directorial debut of Juzo Itami, this irreverent black comedy satirizes death and burial customs in a surprising manner for a Japanese film. Trendy film actress Chizuko (Nobuko Miyamoto) and her actor husband Wabisuke (Tsutomu Yamazaki) must rush from a movie set to mourn Chizuko's honored elderly father. The three-day wake is dramatized with rich comic detail and a funny supporting cast including Shuji Otaki, Kin Sugai, and Chishu Ryu as a greedy priest. Although Itami had yet to perfect the deft comic touch which made Tampopo (1986) such a treat, this darkly funny satire is still wonderfully entertaining and surprisingly touching.
characteristics
- High Historical Importance
- High Artistic Quality
- Generation Gap
- Husband
- Japan
- Wake [funeral]
- Tradition
- Funeral
- Family Gatherings
- Actress
- Actor
- Daughter
- Dead
- Dying
- Death
