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Sweet Bean centres around Sentarô (Mystery Train‘s Masatoshi Nagase), a man who’s as miserable a chef as I was when I used to work in a Little Chef, half a lifetime ago, looking at every single customer that came in and wishing they were dead… or, at the very least, had a fatal heart attack the split-second before they even thought about coming into our place.
Coming into his life soon after the film begins is Tokue (Kirin Kiki), a woman of 76 who wants to work at his pancake stall. He’s not being ageist in turning her down, but a near-octogenarian isn’t quite the right age he was looking for. Sweet Bean is also known as ‘An’, which is the type of bean paste used by Sentarô sandwiched between the pancakes (known as dorayaki). Tokue tells him she thinks his An isn’t as great as it should be, and states she’s been making her own for 50 years.
Automan once said to his creator in that great ’80s sci-fi show, “Haste makes waste, Walter”, and so the opposite happens here, as her chunky bean paste takes a long time to make, but how long can you continue to put so much effort into your work for no extra reward? Well, until word gets round and there’s a queue round the block for the new taste.
In this world, people walk into your lives, seemingly for no reason, and change it in a way you couldn’t see coming. I don’t believe in fate, but then there are sometimes situations like this which could make you question that. Tokue doesn’t come across as the full shilling, yet there is clearly honesty and passion in everything she cooks… more so, you feel, than the owner, who – understandably in a way – treats the place as a business rather than a vocation.
I thought this Sweet Bean was going to be as predictable as the day is long, but then it took a turn I wasn’t expecting. At times, it is a very sweet (pun not intended) and moving film, and I think will be one of those experiences that you either get swept along with, or you don’t, and I say the latter, given some of the so-so reviews I’d read about it before watching it. But then a lot of the big-wig reviewers also loved Spectre and that was terrible.
The cast is small in this film, but the translated named cast is even smaller, since as the credits roll, there are clearly characters/actors who have not been identified. As this Blu-ray/DVD package has been released in Europe, surely the credits should’ve been fully translated.
The film is presented in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high definition and brings the beauty of early mornings and cherry blossom trees in Tokyo to the screen. Couple that with DTS HD 5.1, mostly used for atmosphere, including the split-surround for the hustle and bustle of the city, and also even in the quietest moments, and it looks and sounds superb.
Unfortunately, the rest of the presentation could do with a boost from Tokue’s bean paste, as there are only two items for extras: An interview with Naomi Kawase (35:28), filmed exclusively for the Masters of Cinema series in Nara, Japan, and a trailer (1:42).
The menu is static and silent with a shot of Tokue, Sentarô and young Wakana (Kyara Uchida), another main character. There are subtitles in English, but for a film lasting nearly 2 hours, the chaptering is a woefully inadequate EIGHT!
Sweet Bean is released tomorrow on Blu-ray/DVD double pack, and click on the packshot for the larger version.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
8 10 8 2 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 113 minutes
Year: 2016
Cat no.: EKA70223
Distributor: Eureka
Released: August 22nd 2016
Chapters: 8
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
Languages: Japanese
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (35 mm)
Disc Format: BD50
Director: Naomi Kawase
Producers: Koichiro Fukushima, Yoshito Ohyama and Masa Sawada
Screenplay: Naomi Kawase (based on the novel “An” by Durian Sukegawa)
Music: David Hadjadj
Cast:
Sentarô: Masatoshi Nagase
Tokue: Kirin Kiki
Wakana: Kyara Uchida
Shop Owner: Miyoko Asada
Yoshiko: Etsuko Ichihara
Yôhei: Taiga
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.