The Happiness of the Katakuris

The Katakuri family are a bunch of losers: a father laid off in the recession, a delusional stay-at-home mother, a money embezzling punk son, and a hopelessly romantic daughter. Desperate for a fresh start, they open a countryside guesthouse. Surely, this will turn things around! It’s just that nobody comes to such a desolate place... except for weirdos who, for some reason, all keep dying on them.

Director Takashi Miike, usually known for violent films like Audition or Ichi the Killer, fashions a kind of contemporary vaudeville, in which musical numbers are used as a coping mechanism. Life is a cabaret, so smile, sing, and bury the corpse later! Beneath the absurdity lies the modern fear of happiness being always just out of reach. Yet it’s also the surprisingly endearing story of a family staying together through thick and thin. Special mentions go to Kenji Sawada, a kind of Japanese David Bowie of the 1960s, playing the father and the unforgettable claymation sequences.