Touches You

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It must be me. It seems that only Japanese filmmakers are able to find that light world where everything seems incidental, but every motion has cosmic force. So very many of these succeed.And again, we have a simple family who we observe, but the thing tickles our notions of self- performance and art. The "narrator" is a little girl who is haunted by a giant image of herself who watches in silence (as do we) until she is able to perform a trick. The father is a hypnotist, the mother a film animator. The uncle, who lives with them is a sound editor and aspiring performer.Key events: a game of go as teen seduction; that boy running until unable to breathe as the most extreme joy, joy in not having but expecting. The only kind of real joy, exhausting.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

I haven't had this much fun watching a movie since I saw MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS. Like the Yamadas, this family has its own... eccentricities... Unlike the Yamadas, several family members here are involved in the manga business. Being an Osamu Tezuka fan (ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, BLACK JACK, etc.), any "behind-the-scenes" stories featuring manga or the creation thereof are fascinating to me. (Unlike American comic books, which have been around only a century or so, Japanese "ga" have been around literally for ages...) The day-to-day joys and sorrows of this family are whimsical and poignant and- at one point- downright heartrending. Not too far removed from Real Life. The closing montage is breathtaking (it reminded me of an interview I once saw with the composer Kitaro- who did the music for THE SILK ROAD- who, when asked wherefrom came his inspiration, led the interviewer to a swing erected atop a mountain where he could sit and watch the sun set: his reply was simply to point to the setting sun). THE TASTE OF TEA is a most beautiful movie. See it and see for yourself.

I watched this film as part of a sort of "move binge" I was having and as such the true beauty of the film was somewhat dulled in my mind as I went directly from watching one movie, to watching it, to watching another. However, after reflecting on it and then watching it a second time I really can say that this movie is quite good. As many others that have commented have mentioned, it's not particularly "exciting" in a traditional movie sense; but the aesthetic quality of the scenes, along with the superb acting job done by the main characters and the creativity of the story make it a very good film. The reason I chose to watch the film in the first place was largely due to the fact that I'm a big Tadanobu Asano fan and I saw he was in it. He isn't really that major of a character in the movie (no one really is) so don't expect any kind of outstanding performance from him. Don't get me wrong, he plays his role very well, but everyone's role in the film is somewhat muted, as that is the overall mood of the film in a way.

Really fantastic! Ishii offers us a great moment of dream, with humor, absurdity and poetry. Some kind of Non Identified Movie that you quite don't see any more. Everything is built around a little girl getting exhausted by her giant imaginary double. She has a manga-designer mother, a reserved father, a fist-in-love brother, a nut grandfather and a mysterious uncle. This delirious and particular family will follow its path through more than two hours of slow poetry, giving the audience a wonderful time. Don't miss it if you have any chance of watching it, you'll be dreaming in a theater!