Thursday 21 April 2011

Just watched: Café Isobe

Ah, the sun. As the UK basks in a surprise Easter heatwave, I find I'm less attracted to dark, tense thrillers and am drawn towards lighter, more summer-y material. Apart from anything else, trying to watch dimly-lit scenes while I'm sitting in a room with the sun coming in through the window often ruins the atmosphere.











This film from 2008 tells the tale of a divorced man (Miyasako Hiroyuki) who decides to open a café one summer and he gets his daughter (Naka Riisa) to help as a waitress. One day, an attractive woman comes in looking for a job and the appalled daughter watches as her father falls in love.











The comedy arises naturally from the situations and doesn't feel forced, and Naka Riisa never puts a foot wrong in her portrayal of a high school student forced to stand by as her dad makes a fool of himself. I think I’ve underestimated her acting skills, since this is now the second film I’ve seen in which she’s been great. Perhaps Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo wasn’t the best place to start my assessment of her career.

Another part of the film I enjoyed was the mother (Hamada Mari). In a lesser film, this would have been the source of loud arguments but in this film, the resentment is more in the background, and they never shout at each other when they meet, only bicker endlessly about the same things.











Kudos, too, go to Miyasako Hiroyuki (Zettai Reido, At Home Dad) as a the father and Aso Kumiko as the waitress that causes all his anguish. This is a fairly gentle film, despite the rather pessimistic message it gives about love. It's well-written and sensitively acted, with an engaging storyline and as the film progresses and feelings get hurt, it never loses its sense of humour nor does it fall into cliché.

4 comments:

  1. Let me suggest two other Naka Riisa dramas, Kami no Shizuku and Hachi-One Diver. I don't think they got many great reviews, but they were quite entertaining to watch. Especially, getting to see the different personalities that Riisa-chan protrays.

    I just started looking at your blog, and it is quite informative. Keep up the great work!

    California Oenophile

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  2. Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions. I'll try and check them out.

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  3. Say, if you're a Naka Riisa fan, a new dorama SP came out this Saturday, called Young Black Jack, starring Riisa-chan. There's a lot of buzz on D-Addicts, so there will be Eng Subs fortunately (my nihongo is only fair).

    http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/04/drama-prime-time-report-–-april-22nd24th/

    California Oenophile

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  4. That girl is talented for sure, perhaps one of the best of her generation, but she's got too much casted in awful shows. It's sad though

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