Happiness of the Katakuris – Katakuri-ke no kôfuku (2001)

Directed by: Takashi Miike | 113 minutes | comedy, fantasy | Actors: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tetsurô Tanba, Naoto Takenaka, Tamaki Miyazaki, Takashi Matsuzaki

Takashi Miike is one of the most prolific directors in the world. His passion for film is legendary: the 61-year-old Japanese has made more than a hundred films and TV series since his debut in 1991. He is best known for his shocking horror films, where brutality knows no bounds and blood and torture are the order of the day. Although he drew his inspiration from the work of filmmakers such as Paul Verhoeven and David Cronenberg, Miike has created a style all his own. If you are a little familiar with the director, you know that his films provide unique viewing experiences. The same goes for his highly idiosyncratic ‘The Happiness of the Katakuris’.

After losing his job, Masao Katakuri (Kenji Sawada) opens a hotel in the wilderness. His family, consisting of his wife Terue (Keiko Matsuzaka), son Masayuki (Shinji Takeda), daughter Shizue (Naomi Nishida), her child Yurie (Tamaki Miyazaki) and his father Jinpei (Tetsurō Tamba) also join. The family works hard, but the hotel turns out not to be the tourist attraction they originally hoped for. When a guest finally arrives, he commits suicide at night, leaving the Katakuris in a diabolical dilemma. Fearing a bad reputation, the Katakuris bury the man in the adjacent forest. But the following guests do not leave the hotel alive either. Somehow all the guests die – by suicide, accident or murder – and soon the bodies in the woods begin to pile up. The Katakuri’s are soon drawn into a mystical battle, the consequences of which are almost impossible to foresee.

With ‘The Happinness of the Katakuris’, based on the South Korean film ‘The Quiet Family’ (1998), Takeshi Miike proves once again what a crazy, creative filmmaker he is. This is an unpredictable movie. Everything we see on the screen takes place as if we were in a strange dream, which could turn into a nightmare at any moment. Miike is constantly playing with the viewer. First he serves scenes full of humor, then he confronts us with a dose of horror, and a little later he returns to the previous path of laughter and absurdity. The very first scene, where claymation was added, is a good example of this. We are presented with a bizarre lesson about the cycle of eating and being eaten, in which a monstrous clay doll plays the leading role. On the one hand you have to laugh at the craziness of this scene, but on the other it also leaves you with an alienating and uneasy feeling. Miike herself has no problem with this.

The director has rarely played with so many different genres and styles as is the case here. Horror, crime, thriller, romance, comedy; it is all reviewed. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that Miike chooses to have his film unfold into a musical, with karaoke songs and all. The result is that at times we no longer know exactly what we are watching. Is that bad? That is completely up to the viewer. Probably every viewer will have a different opinion after watching ‘The Happiness of the Katakuris’. Some may wonder what the exact purpose of the film is, while others will enjoy the total freedom of interpretation.