Synopsis
The Katakuri family has just opened their guest house in the mountains. Unfortunately their first guest commits suicide and in order to avoid trouble they decide to bury him in the backyard. Things get way more complicated when their second guest, a famous sumo wrestler, dies while having sex with his underage girlfriend and the grave behind the house starts to fill up more and more.
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Cast
- Kenji SawadaMasao Katakuri
- Keiko MatsuzakaTerue Katakuri
- Shinji TakedaMasayuki Katakuri
- Naomi NishidaShizue Katakuri
- Kiyoshiro ImawanoRichado Sagawa
- Tetsurō TambaGranpa Jinpei Katakuri
- Naoto TakenakaTV Reporter / Singer
- Tamaki MiyazakiYurie Katakuri
- Takashi MatsuzakiUtanomi
- Yoshiki ArizonoFather of the Poor Family
Recommendations
- 83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The biggest surprise for Miike fans and musical lovers alike is that for all the black humor of this deliriously bizarre fantasy "Happiness" is a warmhearted film about sacrifice, support and four generations of family togetherness. - 80
Chicago Reader
A camp musical-comedy hoot. It comes on like an outrageous episode of "The Simpsons" or "South Park." - 80
The A.V. Club
A joyously demented musical-comedy built on a macabre foundation, like "The Sound Of Music" with a kickline of corpses. - 75
Boston Globe
If there's one image that sums up the filmmaking style of Takashi Miike, it's the close-up of a bubbling hot pot on the family dinner table. - 70
TV Guide Magazine
Grisly, yes, but it's all done in fun; having tried his hardest to shock audiences with his previous films, it now appears Miike simply wants to entertain, and he pulls out all the stops. - 50
San Francisco Chronicle
Occasionally, this film is funny and cute. When the family's little girl narrates, it reaches a level of humor that is ironic and endearing. - 50
The New York Times
It's all very zany. Occasionally it is even madcap. You would almost be tempted to smile at times, albeit weakly, if it weren't for Mr. Miike's habit of pounding home every joke with exaggerated reaction shots. - 50
Variety
An unexpected departure off the map, flinging together elements of Alpine musical, ghoulish Jan Svankmajer-style claymation and a family portrait so hokey it makes the Brady Bunch look hip.
