A Hardest Night
Nezu no Ban
Director: Masahiko Makino
Cast : Hiroyuki Nagato, Junko Fuji, Kiichi Nakai, Ittoku Kishibe, Takashi Sasano
Rakugo (roughly translated as "comic storytelling") master Shomantei Kyokaku is on his hospital deathbed surrounded by wife Shizuko, son Kyoya, and his 4 pupils: Kyoji, Kyota, Kyoshi, and Kyoshichi.
When asked about his last wish, the frail old man whispers into Kyoji’s ear: “I want to see…” The others frantically gather around Kyoji enquiring what their master said, Kyoji informs them: “He wants to see…A pussy!” One last time the old man wants to see the delicate flower of womanhood, but how are his students going to meet the master’s last wish? This is just one of the dilemmas and stories shared between the students and family of the Shomantei clan as they see their beloved master off into the next world with bittersweet celebration.
As fate would have it, it’s not long before other members of the family also pass on, which means more funerals and more stories and comical reminiscing for the surviving members.
Nezu no Ban is one of those films that is so inherently steeped in its own native culture that it is difficult to define why it should appeal to foreign viewers. It’s promoted as a riotous comedy, but in truth probably only its target audience of the older Japanese generation will find the film gut-wrenchingly funny – so you can imagine how much the humour appeals to us Westerners.
2006 Color Anamorphic Screen 110 Min.
Japanese with English subtitles
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