Dorayaki
is the favorite sweet treat of manga character Doraemon. Consisting of two
pancakes stuffed with sweet bean paste (“an”), they resemble large Macarons
(which in turn, are very different from macaroons). Sentaro has no taste for
them, yet he manages a dorayaki stand. Of course, neither Sentaro or his two
closest associates need to be told life is not fair. However, the experiences
of septuagenarian Tokue will profoundly move him and their teen-aged friend.
Food and natural beauty will provide some consolation in Naomi Kawase’s Sweet Bean (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
Sentaro
is a quiet, solitary man. He rarely speaks to his customers, but he makes an
exception in the case of Wakana. Unlike her shallow classmates, she will
probably not be attending college. Instead, her neglectful mother expects her
to start working fulltime. Work represents something entirely different for
Tokue. She is willing to take half the wages Sentaro is offering for a part time
assistant, but her age and scarred hands make him skeptical. However, when he
tastes a batch of her home-made sweet bean paste all his reservations melt
away.
Despite
his reserve, Sentaro quickly warms to Tokue and their customers quickly warm to
their greatly improved dorayaki. Unfortunately, their pleasant days together
will not last. According to the owner of the dorayaki stand, to whom Sentaro.
is deeply indebted, Tokue is a long-time resident of the quarantine
center-turned assisted living facility for Hanson’s disease patients. That
would be leprosy, so she naturally wants Tokue out. Sentaro will drag his feet,
but he is employee just as much as she is.
Sweet Bean could well be
Kawase’s best and most accessible film to date. There is still the hushed vibe,
but the drama is acutely human. Frankly, Sweet
Bean is a lot like Japan’s Oscar winner Departures,
but the emotions it draws out are even subtler and more complex. Despite
the relatively brief amount of time Tokue spends with “the Boss” and Wakana,
the connections they forge are deep and meaningful.
Kirin
Kiki is quite remarkable as Tokue. Earnest yet down to earth, she keeps the
film from descending into maudlin melodrama. Her real life granddaughter Kyara
Uchida is also soulful beyond her years. Yet it is Masatoshi Nagase (the coach
in Kano) who really lowers the boom
down the stretch. There are no fireworks in Sweet
Bean, but the central trio play off each other perfectly.
