HANA YORI MO NAHO (2006)
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Junichi Okada, Rie Miyazawa, Arata Furuta
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Running Time: 129mins

Rating:

Holed up within a rundown tenament block rife with Ronin, merchants, and con artists Soza (Junichi Okada) a young Samurai seeks revenge for the murder of his father. Biding his time by teaching the local children mathematics and literature Soza (an unskilled swordsman) is forced to decide whether he should engage in a futile duel with the man responsible (Tadanobu Asano) that would see him attain that much revered honourable Samurai death or set aside his thirst for revenge and remain an inhabitant of his new-found community.

Hana Yori Mo Naho is something of an oddity to the canon of work from acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore'eda. Stepping away from his comfort zone of documentarian stylised social-realist dramas Hana Yori Mo Naho sees Kore'eda set his sights on the Samurai genre. However, in his usual assured style manages to create an engrossing, entertaining and heartfelt film without ever relying upon the hack and slash or arterial sprays of red usually accustomed to the genre.

This is less a film about the Samurai instead presenting a story about the inner workings of a community with nothing of material value, but with the heart and solidarity required to survive the tough times they face. In fact it's villagers frequently mock the "stupidity" of the nature of vengeance and self-sacrifice as regressive male thinking, while we are treated to an alternative look on the much revered story of the 47 Ronin, here starting 50 strong, clueless, agitated, numbers dwindling with wild excuses. Their legendary attack of "honour" is reduced to, and criticised as nothing more than a "sneak attack at night" by Sadashiro (Furuta). It's a bold move by Koreeda but one that pays off, the true honour and dignity is seen in the villagers who get on with life and live it to the best of their means.

Featuring an all star cast led by the ever-likeable Junichi Okada, the elegant Rie Miyazawa, and the aimiable village lynchpin played subtly by Arata Furuta, they are backed by a supporting cast of both A-listers and past Koreeda performers including Tadanobu Asano, Susumu Terajima, Kenichi Endo, Yoshio Harada, Renji Ishibashi and Jun Kunimura. It is literally a who's who of Japanese cinema.

Hana Yori Mo Naho may set itself up to be a film about revenge, however, it is much more than that. From the offset Koreeda puts aside Soza's quest more as a sub-plot to serve our understanding of the characters that inhabit these meagre dwellings. It's very much an ensemble piece circling around its tight-knit community each with his/her own sub-plots all of equal importance. Koreeda's juggling act is superbly executed with a sequence revolving around a stormy night shifting tones from romanticism, and sadness to humour. It's an encapsulation of emotions that few could hope to achieve with such subtlety.

Charming and humorous throughout its a joy to watch, a welcome change of pace showing Koreeda as a director fully capable of mixing genres yet still retaining his clearly identifyable shooting style. Granted the humour at times is particularly broad (a running gag of shit being turned to mochi frequently tip-toes on the line of "toilet humour" irritation) however, the light-hearted tone of the film, free of any sense of foreboding nor pretention allows for a freefalling structure to wash over you with a sense of calm.

Minor gripes may come from the at times cliched script, or the running time which gradually starts to stretch its feel-good vibe too thin, also fans of Tadanobu Asano will be disappointed by how little he is given to do. However, there can be no denying that Hana Yori Mo Naho is a breath of fresh air in a genre all too often concerned with either visceral displays of violence or brooding seriousness, the injection of humour and well being is infectious leaving you with a wide grin come its closing moments.

A beautiful little film, one can only hope that Hana Yori Mo Naho (so far his most accessible film) becomes the one to open the eyes of distributors in the West to the talents of Hirokazu Koreeda. With such an impressive back catalogue of films to support this little gem, it is surely time that we see his work made available for fans of all cinema to discover.

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