Yes, so I gave "The taste of tea" a full 10 score. It's not something I do lightly, mind you. How come a whimsical, Japanese, slice-of-life flick makes me go to such length? Let me count the ways...Ishii has, as many contemporary Asian directors, shown much promise but never really gone all the way. However, the first time I read about "The taste of tea" I got the feeling that 'this might be the one', and yes, finally, it was.The story revolve around a family with unusual, but not unbelievable people who go about their slightly odd, but not unconvincing lives. It's all a bit like in those "celebration of life" type of movies which were banned during the sixties, or at least moved to Balkan; But slower. Much slower. In a good way. Is that even possible? Yes it is. The younger son in the family is more of the main character than the others but his story is strangely enough the one that touches me the least. His the little sister is far more interesting with her BIG imaginary-friend problem. My favourite of the lot is of course grandpa, an retired animator who spends his time enjoying life and coming up with fantastic songs like "Why are you a triangle?" and "The mountain is alive". "The mountain is alive" has nothing to do with "sound of music" but its performance would still beat Julie Andrews any day, at lest in the eyebrow-bowlcut-polyester-and-pure-style area.And yes, the style... Call it impressionism or magic realism but the heightened visual language actually works here. There are some computer graphics but its made with a big pounding digital heart. Watching "Taste of tea" is like taking a stroll on a nice spring day. Its beautifully executed with charm, wit, soul, and dare I say it... sublimity? It soothes the mind and it even makes me like humanity, something which requires an ever increasingly effort these days. Sure, its not for everyone but since I'm reviewing it now, I call it one of the very few flawless gems out there. Pure bliss.

"Cha no aji" (U.S. title: "The Taste of Tea") is an imaginative, visually pleasing, quietly meditative and occasionally surreal series of reflections on the daily life of an extended family who live in a rural village within commuting distance of Tokyo, where the father, Nobuo, carries on a clinical hypnosis practice. His principal challenge in life is not clearly articulated, but life tasks facing the others are clear, and we follow them closely. Yoshiko, the mother, is an animation artist attempting to resume her career outside the creative milieu of the urban studio. Teenage son Hajime struggles to find peer acceptance and wonders how to approach a new girl he has a crush on. Six year old Sachiko needs to overcome her intriguingly represented self consciousness. Grandfather Akira, possibly a retired actor, tries to stay fit and aids Yoshiko in her drawings (by posing as a model in various fighting postures), while secretly preparing gifts to leave behind for the others when he departs this world. Yoshiko's wild brother Ayano shows up from the city to visit. He's been adrift since the love of his life married someone else. This captivating series of portraits is not without a few incomprehensible ripples. Why on earth do huge turds keep appearing in unlikely places? What's that unnamed guy doing buried up to his chin in mud? Thomas Moore (who wrote "Care of the Soul") would probably call these symbols of soulfulness, but who knows. Chalk up some of the curiosities here to the zany aesthetic of the filmmaker, a buddy of Quentin Tarantino's, who, among other accomplishments, created the fabulous animation sequence in "Kill Bill, Vol. 1," arguably the best sequence in that film.

a bizarre, humorous, and surreal look at the quiet life of a seemingly ordinary country family in japan. the film contains a series of humorous anecdotes and events about the separate lives of an extended family. we start off with tadanobu asano's hilarious and unmatched story about 'crapping on a giant egg and the yakuza following him everywhere.' from there, the film moves between painfully slow countryside shots, which harken back to yasujiro ozu's films, and amusing tales of the family's ordinary life. one of the more pleasant and crowd pleasing stories relate's the family's son's attempts to woo the beautiful new biracial Japanese girl (anna tsuchiya from 'kamikaze girls') at school through his mastery of the game, go.even with the slow paced editing, the film is wonderfully charming and sometimes funnier than a rerun of sanford and son.totally worth your time and money.

Wow, I just got finished watching this fantastic flick and I gotta say, it's well worth seeking out. Because of the comic book nihilism of his first two films, Ishii perhaps has been unfairly lumped in with the Tarantino-wannabe crowd. But Cha no Aji is sure to show those critics another side of a very talented director.While I'm a fan of all three films, I think this movie is Ishii's best to date. It's got his trademark eccentric characters and meandering plot lines, but here he takes his flights of creative fancy to new heights. In categorizing this film, if that is indeed possible, I am reminded of the whimsical let-it-fly-ish-ness of Juzo Itami's more playful works.Cha no Aji brings you in to the world of an unusually quirky family, whose actions at first seem not of this world. Before you are able to ask yourself what the hell is going, you're drawn in, following several strange story lines, which are just as out there as they are touching and human. Before you know it, the characters become a part of you and you're finding a little bit of yourself within each one. Yes, even the seemingly senile grandpa. (Just wait, you'll see.) This movie hits on many levels. It's touching. Hilarious. Bizarre (at times almost in a Hausu kinda way). Pregnant with ideas. And most importantly... inspired! To top it off, the soundtrack is provided by the most excellent soca-flavored dub band Little Tempo, who have an impressive discography and are well worth checking out if good honest dub is your thing.What a movie!