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Released by: Eastern Star
Released on: November 14, 2008.
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tetsuro Tamba
Year: 2002
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The Movie:
Takashi Miike's 2001 remake of Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon's 1998 black comedy, The Quiet Family, is one of Miike's more accessible works in that it doesn't contain much in the way of nasty sex or violence. Don't expect to see Yakuza's slicing out their tongues, snorting giant lines of coke, or anything like that. That said, accessible by Miike standards can still be… odd. Happiness Of The Katakuris might just be the first family oriented musical comedy to contain zombies and weird little monsters.
The film tells the story of the Katakuri family who run an inn out in the middle of a remote mountain area. They're hoping that a highway soon to be built in the area will land them a whole lot of business because when we first meet them, they haven't had a single guest. That changes early on but not necessarily in a good way as the first guest they take in commits suicide in their establishment that very night. Rather than go to the authorities and bring down the inevitable swarm of bad publicity, they decide to bury the corpse in the backyard and play dumb.
Their next guest, a famous sumo wrestler, arrives a day later but the Katakuris' luck doesn't change for the better when he dies during sex with an underage girl he brought with him. Again, the Katakuris don't want any bad publicity to harm their business so the two new corpses are buried in the yard as well. Things just get nuttier from there…
Not unlike a twisted version of The Sound Of Music (the DVD's cover art definitely plays up this aspect of the film), The Happiness Of The Katakuris is a lot of fun. The family members tend to break out into song at exactly the wrong moment making for some entirely inappropriate musical numbers that are as catchy as they are hilarious. The performances are all played completely straight which just adds to the strange atmosphere of it all and periodically Miike throws in some claymation… just because.
Surprisingly enough, like Visitor Q, Happiness Of The Katakuris has an underlying sweetness to it that speaks to the importance of the family dynamic. Yes, the message is relayed with murder, zombies, and death by sumo sex but what keeps the family together is their united front, their drive to make their inn a success and to provide for one another. There are scenes where this starts to fray, as there are moments in every family's run where the strings come untied, but this genuinely touching, if completely off the wall, story of a family's struggle to make a go of it works incredibly well. It's not a film for all tastes but anyone with a taste for the absurd or an appreciation for Miike's creativity and daring-do as a director will have trouble not appreciating this film. It's technically quite well made, it's well acted and well performed, and most importantly, it's really good entertainment.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Eastern Star presents Happiness Of The Katakuris in a nice 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that's in very nice shape. Color reproduction is rock solid while black levels remain strong and consistent. There aren't any issues with print damage nor are there any problems with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement to note. All in all, this is a clean, colorful transfer that generally looks very good indeed.
The Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track comes with optional English subtitles that are clean, clear and easy to read and free of any obvious typographical errors. The audio quality itself is quite good. There aren't any problems with hiss or distortion nor are there any issues with the levels, they're all properly balanced. Dialogue is always easy to understand and the score sounds quite good.
First up is a commentary track from director Takashi Miik who is joined by actor and film critic Tokitoshi Shiota. They speak in Japanese but the English subtitles do a good job of translating the conversation which covers Miike's intent for making the picture, what it was like shooting a musical, some of the effects work, and casting the film. The commentary moves at a fairly good pace and contains some interesting ideas and information. It also solidifies the fact that Miike is a weird guy.
From there, check out individual video interviews with Takashi Miike, and cast members Kenji Sawada, Shinji Takeda, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tetsuro Tamba, Keiko Matsuzaka and Naomi Nishida. Everyone here chimes in on what they liked about the picture, what it was like working with one another, their thoughts on the film and its content and what they liked about their characters. Also be sure to check out a brief five minute spot that covers the stop motion animation used in one of the film's most famous scenes.
Rounding out the extra features are a trailer spot, a theatrical trailer for the feature, and trailers for other Discotek/Eastern Star DVD releases.
The Final Word:
A great blend of black comedy, musical nuttiness and sincerely touching family dynamics, Happiness Of The Katakuris is a fantastic and completely enjoyable film. Eastern Star have done a nice job on this special edition release, presenting the film in nice quality and slathered with extra features.