ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - Japan Society Film Club: The Happiness of the Katakuris directed by Takashi Miike

Date
Wednesday 2 March 2022
Time
6.30pm

Booking Details
Free - Booking essential
Priority for Japan Society Members

Please remember to watch the film in advance. The Happiness of the Katakuris is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Apple TV, as well as on Arrow Films with subscription.

Do you love Japanese film classics, anime or contemporary cinema stories? Do you miss Japan and want to see it at least on screen? Would you like to learn and discuss about Japanese culture and society? Join us for the Japan Society Film Club where we will chat online about films and Japan in an informal atmosphere.

For the Film Club in March we invite you to watch the eccentric film The Happiness of the Katakuris directed by Takashi Miike in 2001.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (カタクリ家の幸福, Katakuri-ke no kofuku, 2001) is a surreal comedy-horror remake of the Korean film, The Quiet Family (Jee-woon Kim, 1998). It is set in a guesthouse at the foot of Mount Fuji run by the multigenerational Katakuri family. The Katakuris have just moved from the city and prepared everything carefully to receive their guests in the hope that a future road passing nearby will bring many tourists. However, when the first visitors start arriving, they all end up dead in their rooms prompting the Katakuris to bury the bodies to protect the reputation of their family business. Delirious and farcical, the film offers an original combination of genres including claymation sequences, musical and dance numbers, and karaoke-style scenes.

Takashi Miike (1960- ) is an acclaimed Japanese filmmaker with an extensive filmography of over 100 works for cinema, TV and video. Born in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Miike graduated from Yokohama Vocational School of Broadcast and Film, an institution founded by renowned filmmaker Shohei Imamura, and started his career in the early 90s working in television and direct-to-video V-cinema productions. Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) was his first theatrical success showing some of Miike’s trademarks such as a graphic, cartoonish depiction of extreme violence and sexual perversions, a very dark sense of humour and a focus on characters and experiences outside of mainstream society and morality. Among his most celebrated films are horror stories such as Audition (1999) and One Missed Call (2003), yakuza films such as the Dead or Alive series (1999-2002) and remakes of classic samurai and action works such as Graveyard of Honor (2002), 13 Assassins (2010) and Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011). Moreover, he has also directed films in a wide variety of genres such as children's films (The Great Yokai War, 2005; Ninja Kids!!!, 2011), video game, manga and anime adaptations (Crows Zero, 2007; Yatterman, 2009; Ace Attorney, 2012; JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, 2017) and even a Japanese spaghetti western (Sukiyaki Western Django, 2007).

Japan Society Film Clubs will take place on the first Wednesday of the month. We will recommend a film to watch in advance and meet online to discuss. Films are often available online for free, to rent or with subscription, on DVD/Blu Ray or on BFI player. When possible, we will invite film experts to introduce and lead the discussion, but the event is open to all and we encourage participants to freely express their opinions and feelings about the films.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Booking Info