April 20 Sat @ 5:30 pm
In Memory of Actress Kirin Kiki
Sweet Bean, the title of this film, refers to a delicious Japanese red bean paste, the sweet center of the Dorayaki pancakes that Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase) sells from his humble bakery. Absorbed in sad memories and distant thoughts, Sentaro cooks with skill but without enthusiasm. When 76-year-old Tokue (Kirin Kiki) responds to his ad for an assistant and cheerfully offers to work for a ridiculously low wage, Sentaro is skeptical about the eccentric old lady’s ability to endure the long hours. When she shows up early one morning, however, and reveals the secrets to the perfect sweet bean paste, Sentaro agrees to take her on. With Tokue’s homemade sweet bean paste recipe, Sentaro’s business begins to flourish, but Tokue is afflicted with an illness that, once revealed, drives her into isolation once again.
2015 | 113 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naomi Kawase
(c) 2015 “AN” film partners/COMME DES CINEMAS/TWENTY TWENTY VISION/ZDF-ARTE