Sweet Bean
An
Directed by
- Naomi Kawase
Japan, France, Germany
2015
113 min
- Japanese
Drama
Cannes IFF - Un Certain Regard
Sentaro runs a small bakery that serves dorayakis - pastries filled with sweet red bean paste (“an”). When an old lady, Tokue, offers to help in the kitchen he reluctantly accepts. But Tokue proves to have magic in her hands when it comes to making “an”. Thanks to her secret recipe, the little business soon flourishes… And with time, Sentaro and Tokue will open their hearts to reveal old wounds.
Awards
- Best Film, Best Actress (Kirin Kiki) - Valletta FF
- Best Director - Seminci
- Lifetime Achievement award (Kirin Kiki) - Asian Film Awards
Festivals
Credits
- Cast
- Kirin Kiki
- Masatoshi Nagase
- Kyara Uchida
- Screenplay
- Naomi Kawase
- Cinematography
- Shigeki Akiyama
- Editing
- Tina Baz
- Sales
- MK2 FILMS
- Production
- COMME DES CINEMAS
- Production
- TWENTY TWENTY VISION FILMPRODUKTION
- Production
- NAGOYA TV
Press
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Naomi Kawase's ode to the simple joys in life (...) A delicate drama
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Naomi Kawase's gentle study of life, loss and confectionery is easily the Japanese auteur's most accessible work to date (...) Kirin Kiki is particularly excellent here.
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A gentle purity that gives the film all its force and beauty
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The actors inhabit the roles with unmistakable conviction and the intelligence about An is genuinely fascinating
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Kawase sketches with great elegance and restraint the portrait of two lonely wounded souls
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Heartwarming performance of veteran actress Kirin Kiki
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Kirin Kiki is particularly excellent here
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Profoundly touching and masterfully told
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A recipe for grace
Naomi Kawase
Japan
With her first feature, SUZAKU(1997), KAWASE Naomi became the youngest winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, KAWASE has had three other films in competition at Cannes, including SHARA (2003), MOGARI- THE MOURNING FOREST(2007), and HANEZU(2011), which won the Grand Prix Award in 2007. In 2009, she became the first woman and Asian filmmaker to receive the Carrosse d’Or, for directors who have made significant contributions to the Cannes Film Festival. KAWASE’s films have also screened at many other international film festivals, including Locarno and San Sebastian. Her 2017 film RADIANCE was selected in competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
