UDON
Today I have yet another film recommendation that I found quite interesting..
(Movie) UDON
• Japan Casts:
Kaname Jun, Katagiri Jin, Kiba Katsumi, Kinishi Manami, Kohinata Fumiyo, Masu Takeshi, Matsumoto Tortoise, Suzuki Kyoka, Yusuke Santamaria
• Description:
“There’s nothing here. Just udon.”
The story starts in a town in Kagawa Prefecture, home to 1 million residents and 900 udon restaurants.
Kosuke Matsui – an aspiring comedian and son of an udon noodlemaker – hates his small-town life, but hates udon even more.
After a fight with his father, he goes to New York to launch his dream career as a stand-up comedian, but six years and one massive debt later he is forced to go home.
When he returns, he finds nothing has changed — his sister still worries about him, his father is still pounding away at noodles, his friends are the same, and there’s still a bowl of warm udon waiting for him when he gets home.
To repay his debt, he works at a publishing company where he meets Kyoko. Together they write a column about udon, which surprisingly kicks off an udon sensation across Japan, changing their lives. Especially Kosuke’s.
Review: When I sat down to watch Udon I expected a masterful movie about soup. However Udon makes an effort to emphasize in the beginning the growing resentment between the US and Japan in the late 80’s for Japan’s industrial growth. Then in a double back twist emphasize one of Japan’s rural backwoods culture that’s anything but industrious. I get that the movie was trying to show the audience that perceptions of a nation don’t always add up. Here we have Americans thinking that all of Japan is gearing up for economic war (from the beginning of the movie) then through the narrative of Kosuke we find out that there’s spots in Japan like Kagawa that still are dwelling in a 1930’s – 1940’s mentality. In the end, the town endures a revival and Kosuke returns back to New York where he was shunned earlier to make his stance which he became quite successful at. This left an unusual aftertaste. Perhaps in the end it’s the reassurance that Japanese shouldn’t take American’s resentment seriously. That even Time’s Square is for the taking if one looks back to his/her roots and follows their dream.
~J