Mark Turner I had no idea what to expect from this movie. From ads I'd seen it looked like an Asian version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC with a family cavorting and singing through the tall grass on a hillside. Coming from director Takashi Miike I knew that this wasn't likely. But I've always enjoyed the few films of his I've had the chance to watch including ICHI THE KILLER and 13 ASSASSINS. He has a great visual style in everything he makes as well as an off kilter look at the world. No, I knew this was no Von Trapp family outing here. What I didn't expect was to absolutely enjoy and love this movie when it finished.A word of warning here. Know that I occasionally love movies that are extremely off the wall and this film fits that category. I'm not talking offensive movies but movies that are quite unlike anything else made. Some of those types of films stink but this isn't one of them. This one made me smile even when bad things were happening. It was all played for laughs and not to be taken seriously.The Katakuri family has seen better days. Dad was a top shoe salesman looking forward to retiring with a pension one day but who was laid off. Mom worked at the same store and that's where the two of them met. Sister falls in love to easily and as a result has a youngster to take care of, the narrator of the story. Brother had a few run ins with the law and is laying low. And Grandpa, well he lives with them all. When word reaches father that a new highway will be going through a location nearby, he purchases a cottage to rent out rooms to travelers along that route. Unfortunately as the film opens that hasn't come to pass and things are rough.They get worse when their first guest to take a room ends up killing himself during the night using the room key to cut his throat. Fearful that the police will let everyone know that their first guest committed suicide will make them lose business, the family decides to just bury the man out in the back end of the property. But this won't be the first guest that they lose nor the last person buried on their lot.Sister has fallen hard for a young man dressed in Navy whites who claims to be working for the Queen of England. In truth he's a con man on the lam and using sister to get whatever he can. When the local constable drops off a wanted poster she doesn't notice him their but grandpa does.As I sit and type I realize that it's difficult to explain all that happens in this movie without giving too much away. So rather than a start to finish description I'll move on to the things that make it worthwhile. It's funny. Yes it's in another language but that doesn't matter. It's still hilarious in parts. It's filled with music, nothing that you'll find yourself singing for days after but this movie is a musical of sorts. The first major number is laughter inspiring as 4 family members enter the room of their first guest in what appears to be styled like a music video from the 80s, with smoke pots, mood lighting and posing actors singing out.Before the end of the film you'll witness zombies dancing (not Michael Jackson zombies but bluer zombies that have begun decomposing in weird ways), clay animated sequences usually involving black birds, an erupting volcano and a mudslide that nearly destroys everyone in the film. Even through all of that by the final moments on screen you'll still be smiling and laughing. With all that happens in the movie I still felt lighthearted and joyous at what I'd just seen. And I was left wondering why, since this movie is 14 years old, has no one turned this into a major Broadway production? It's ripe for something that would play there. If it doesn't happen in the next ten years I will be stunned.So know ahead of time that this movie isn't for everyone but it is a hoot and one that you might just enjoy if you give it a chance. Yes, there are subtitles but for myself I get tired of people saying that makes it too difficult to watch. It doesn't. Get over it. English is not the only language in this world.This Arrow Video release is like all of their releases, filled with extras that actually add something to the movie rather than just being press packages for already famous stars. Included are interviews with the cast, a piece on the Claymation animation, a making of documentary, trailers and a commentary track by Miike himself. All of it makes the movie more enjoyable. If you like something a little different then I can't recommend this one enough. If you're willing to take a chance you just might wonder about the whole Broadway thing like I did. This is one I will more than likely pull up again to watch from time to time.

crossbow0106 The maverick like Takashi Miike, who sends up Japanese culture in many of his films, directed this film about a family who have a guest house in the middle of nowhere, where the (few) lodgers end up dead by morning. And, its a musical! The film is all over the map and even includes some claymation. It is not bad, but it is somewhat uneven. I wish I cared more for the characters, they are somewhat one dimensional. However, Takashi is always interesting as a film maker, so I do recommend it, but he has done better. Its strange in its approach, a black comedy if you will. Once you understand it, you can watch it. Be warned, though, its a little out there.

Zarathustra Iscariot Takashi Miike is the kind of director who makes you confront the grotesque, the beautiful, the exciting and the mundane all in one sitting. His other films often contain moments which, for the faint of heart, may be a moment of Bataillean transgression; something no doubt likely to become a summit experience. 'Happiness of the Katakuris' isn't one of them. It's not as shocking as 'Audition', not as frenetic as 'Dead or Alive' and certainly not as grotesque as 'Ichi the Killer'. It's different. Some might even say better than his other works. 'Happiness..' is an example of ingenuity within the bounds of what might normally have been the mundane. The story is essentially a simple one. A family start up a hotel in a mountainous region of Japan, and for a while they have no customers. Just when they begin to worry a guest turns up. Unfortunately things go awry, as he appears to have only chosen their hotel to commit suicide. From that point on things get from bad to worse for the family and their hotel. It's a simple enough premise, but Miike really builds on it and mixes in cheesy songs, spontaneous dance routines complete with operatic gestures, zombies, hyperbolised family drama and, surprisingly, claymation. The cinematography is, as one might expect from Miike, excellent. There's a wide array of beautifully shot sequences showing off Japan's stunning rural landscapes, and there's camera work during the musical routines which perfectly mimic any famous musical film productions you'd care to think of. Miike also excels himself with his use of wonderfully rendered and skillfully executed claymation sequences, similar to those found in Kazuaki Kiriya's masterpiece 'Casshern', or Gen Sekiguchi's 'Survive Style 5'. The acting is, frankly, excellent. There's little room for criticism. Regardless of whether the cast were performing surreal song and dance routines, engaging in heated family disputes or making jokes at the dinner table, the actors are fantastic. They really help to add substance and humour to the movie. Those playing the Katakuri family are all perfectly cast. The grandfather, the daughter and the desperate father are a pleasure to watch, as they add nuances and depth to their characters, and by extension, the family itself. Special mention also goes to the actor playing the 'foreign' military officer and the daughter's love interest; he's probably one of the most amusing characters I've ever come across. He had me in stitches on several occasions! There's so much off-the-wall humour and cinematic ingenuity that it's hard not to be impressed by this movie. Frankly, when I first had heard mention of this film I was very sceptical, ''A zombie musical? Surely not!'', but once I sat down and began to watch it, I was in awe. From the strangely endearing opening claymation sequence to the epic finale, 'Happiness of the Katakuris' is a film well worth a watch. Whether you're a fan of Takashi Miike, a fan of East Asian cinema, a fan of strange movies or just looking to watch something different, I strongly urge you to watch this movie.

CountZero313 From my rating, you'll know which side of the divide I am on. This is a tired, unfunny film that is too predictable to be zany and aims too hard at off-the-wall to make you care about the characters. It seems to reference a lot of films; the dark comedy isn't as effective as Shallow Grave, the horror less visceral than Swallowtail Butterfly, the dance sequences don't get your foot tapping like Zatoichi, and the songs are putrid, clumsily interspersed rather than effortlessly woven in as in Dancer in the Dark.As for the comedy, from the moment the Dad sits on the swing you know it is going to break and he'll come crashing down. In this vein, all the so-called gags are telegraphed way ahead of time. I smiled twice during the film; when they drop the dead sumo guy out the window, and when the mountain first puffs out smoke to signal it is a volcano. This is lazy, sloppy storytelling - a policeman on a wobbly bicycle?? Are we regurgitating the Keystone Cops now? Downright embarrassing is the casting of and performance by Kiyoshiro Imawano as a conman. That whole pidgin Japanese routine went out with late eighties variety TV here in Japan.Miike has his fans, but after this stale, unpalatable effort I won't be tempted to re-visit any time soon.