Sweet Bean

MEMBERS-ONLY SNEAK PREVIEW

This event is invitation-only. If you are interested in attending special events like this, please consider signing up for a Japan Society Membership at the Contributing Level or above. For questions regarding membership offers, please contact the Membership office at [email protected].

In Ms. Kawase’s graceful tale adapted from the novel by Durian Sukegawa, introverted loner Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase, Mystery Train) runs a tiny “dorayaki” (pancakes filled with "an,” a sweet red bean paste) stand in the suburbs of Tokyo. When 76-year-old Tokue (veteran actress Kirin Kiki, Still Walking, Chronicle of My Mother), persistently asks Sentaro to work in the shop’s kitchen, he reluctantly accepts. It soon turns out that in addition to having uncanny culinary skills (her “an” is much more delicious than Sentaro’s) and a mysterious communion with nature, Tokue has the ability to transform those around her, including Wakana (newcomer Kyara Uchida, real-life granddaughter of Kirin Kiki), a shy teenage schoolgirl who’s a regular at the shop. Thanks to Tokue’s sweet bean recipe, the little business soon flourishes, and with time, Sentaro and Tokue open their hearts to reveal old wounds and painful secrets.
 
Sweet Bean is scheduled to open in New York on Friday, March 18 at Lincoln Plaza Cinema. This sneak preview screening was organized with the cooperation of Kino Lorber and Sophie Gluck.
 
2015, 113 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Naomi Kawase. With Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida.