Kamome Dinner – Kamome shokudô (2006)

Directed by: Naoko Ogigami | 102 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Satomi Kobayashi, Hairi Katagiri, Masako Motai, Jarkko Niemi, Tarja Markus, Markku Peltola, Anita Linnasola, Eine Räihä, Marjatta Salin, Pentti Heinonen, Pertti Roisko, Irjja Punnonen, Pekka Punnonen, Jussi Vehviläinen, Maria Morvuviläinen Pekka Kilpikoski, Aino Uski, Torsti Koskinen

Sachie (Satomi Kobayashi) opens a small Japanese restaurant in the Finnish capital Helsinki. In good spirits she sets out to introduce the Finns to Japanese cuisine; customers just don’t want to pour in. The only customer she has is the young, Japanese-speaking Tommi (Jarkko Niemo). He never has to pay for his coffee because he was her first customer. Miraculously, Sachie meets Midori (Haira Katagiri), whom she approached in a bookshop if she might know the lyrics of a Japanese anime song. Midori soon becomes a good friend of hers and goes to help in the restaurant.

The female director Naoko Ogigami (‘Rent-a-Cat’, ‘Glasses’) has her own style. Her films are often not really narrative, but are a form of experience. In ‘Kamome Dinner’ you are thrown into the life of restaurateur Sachie and you are then presented with a process of the small developments within this eatery and the effect that passers-by can have on them. Her approach provides a very pleasant viewing experience where you can let the film fall over you like a warm blanket.

‘Kamome Dinner’ is a small film that mainly relies on its extremely friendly and touching appearance. Sachie’s encounter with some wondrous clients keeps some pace in the story, but a real plot is secondary to the feel-good feeling the film leaves with you. Especially the acting performance of Satomi Kobayashi adds to this feeling even more. She has such a warm and friendly aura that you as a viewer can’t help but embrace her completely and get sucked into her totally selfless way of thinking. It’s as if the world gets a little bit lighter because of the main character, who already completely confides in people she’s just met. Even a burglar can’t get her wrong and is soon invited for a nice cup of coffee.

Very nice are the Japanese traditions that are reflected in almost every scene. For example, it is extensively discussed how customers are welcomed in different ways: one bends in a different way than another. The way in which Sachie finds her peace in the evening by practicing a form of Aikido also contributes to the Japanese traditional way of thinking that Naoko Ogigami has subtly incorporated in the film.

As a lover of quietly babbling Japanese films, you can certainly indulge yourself with the wonderfully fresh and beautifully stylized ‘Kamome Dinner’.