Naomi Kawase's Sweet Bean is a simple story that feels slight at first, but as the film unfolds under the skilled direction of Naomi Kawase, Sweet Bean reveals itself as a beautifully understated study of hope, perseverance, and the importance of making the most out of the time one has in life. The story is centered around the manager of a pancake stall, a lonely man who has absolutely no passion for his craft, working there due to being indebted to the owner because of his past mistakes. One day the man is confronted by Tokue, an eccentric, yet sweet 74-year old woman who is looking for work. Reluctant to hire the elderly woman at first, the manager has a change of heart after tasting Tokue's homemade red bean paste, which she claims comes from her communion with nature. The two of them slowly form an unlikely friendship, which becomes threatened with the discovery that Tokue has been suffering from Leprosy. Sweet Bean is the type of film that could easily have been overly sentimental hogwash, but what Naomi Kawase has crafted is a borderline existential drama that truly captures the importance of optimism and not settling in life. Beautifully performed by Kirin Kiki, Tokue is a character who has been through a lot of pain in her life, and yet she remains incredibly optimistic, a character who provides warmth to everyone around her despite her internal struggles with her health. The relationship between these two characters is tender and nuanced, and while Tokue provides the manager with the strength to rediscover his own passion and personal path to happiness, the manager provides Tokue a place where she feels wanted, being able to serve her red bean paste and interact with others. This is particularly important given Tokue's leprosy, being a character who has essentially been isolated her enire life, living in the secluded leprosy community on the outskirts of town. Through this character, Sweet Bean almost feels like an ode to those effected by the leprosy outbreak in Japan, touching on the mistreatment they experienced by the Japanese people due to fear, with Tokue somehow still maintaining her optimism. Sweet Bean isn't flashy or particularly stylistic, but it's a beautifully photographed film that uses sunlight to perfection, evoking the sense of optimism felt by Tokue, a woman who claims to find happiness through her communion with nature. A story that could have easily been overly sentimental, Naomi Kawase's Sweet Bean is an elegant story of the tender relationship between two unlikely people, being a powerful portrait of the importance of optimism, hope, and companionship.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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