The Quiet Katakuris

Keeping up with über-prolific director Takashi Miike is no easy feat. In fact, by the time you finish reading this he'll have completed another film. Though a handful of his releases are readily available in the States (with more on the way), it's still only a fraction of the sixty-plus features he's directed. Though best known for the disturbing Audition and the hyper-kinetic violence of Ichi the Killer or the Dead or Alive trilogy, it would be a mistake to pigeonhole him to a single genre. From the simple character study that is Rainy Dog, to the magic realism of The Bird People in China, to the surreal brilliance of this year's Gozu, Miike is continually reinventing himself. Of all his films, the one that is the most touching (even amidst its absurdity) is the murderous family musical The Happiness of the Katakuris. The 2001 film is actually a remake of the 1998 Korean black comedy The Quiet Family, directed by Kim Ji-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters). In an interview, Miike described seeing the film on his nearly broken VHS player, and even though the he could barely see the image for part of the film, he was so moved by the story that he knew he had to remake it. The premise of the two films is identical -- a family buys a dilapidated mountain inn with hopes that a newly planned road will bring them success. The trouble begins when the few guests they receive in the interim all wind up dead. The differences between the two films range from subtle (the family make-up is altered a bit) to overt (Miike's is a musical that takes an entirely different path at the end). The Quiet Family (top photo) plays it as a straight black comedy from start to finish. As the body count starts rising, so does the paranoia, fear, and general distrust amongst the family members. The story stays wonderfully dark throughout, and the third act has a wonderful payoff. The use of music in the film is quite impressive, though more than a bit odd. From the hip-hop version of The Lonely Bull heard during the opening tracking shot through the inn (with attention to wallpaper, as in A Tale of Two Sisters), to the final scene punctuated by The Partridge Family's I Think I love You, Kim tosses in songs from such diverse artists as The Stray Cats, Love & Rockets, The Box Tops, and Harry Nilsson. Everyone in the ensemble cast, which includes Song Kang-ho (Memories of Murder) and the great Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, Happy End), turns in a richly comic but understated performance. What Takashi Miike took away from The Quiet Family was a sense that there is nothing stronger than a family bond, and it is this idea that runs through The Happiness of the Katakuris (bottom photo). The handful of bubbly musical numbers makes the dark material a bit lighter, though no less macabre. There are some additional characters here, including a phony air force pilot, and a sumo wrestler with a tiny teenage girlfriend. The story follows along the same route as the original until the final reel, where Miike changes gears and the film becomes something quite different, though no less satisfying than the original film, and distinctively Miike. One of his goals was to make a film that you could take your kids to. While it might not be suitable for young children, it certainly is one of the mildest films in his oeuvre, but also one the most fun. Miike chose actors who hail from different film and TV genres, none of whom had sung before, with the exception of Kiyoshiro Imawano, a well-known rock star in Japan. They give it their all, and the behind the scenes footage on the DVD shows just how dedicated they were to the project. Filmbrain highly recommends both films -- and not simply for reasons of comparison. There are a handful of very good Korean black comedies, and The Quiet Family is one of the best. If you've never seen a Takashi Miike film before, The Happiness of the Katakuris is as good a place as any to begin, and a pleasant surprise for those who only know his more twisted side. Both films are (hoorah!) available on DVD. Netflix carries them both.

Comments

[Aaron H.]

I just read today that the Olsen Twins are in talks to play the titular siblings in Dreamworks' remake of A Tale of Two Sisters. I think I now hate America.

[Filmbrain]

Oh good lord no! PLEASE say you made that up!

I joked about that after the screening - never thought it would become a reality.

[Matt]

I adored The Quiet Family when I first saw it; a viewing that was, coincidentally, not unlike Miike's.

[Ed]

Although I haven't seen The Quiet Family yet, I agree with you about Miike's version. It's difficult to have a better time watching a film than this. From the claymation sequences (created specifically for budget reasons) to the first dead body they find causing them to instantly break out in song and dance, I'm left chuckling out loud at the very idea. I hear he was shooting another children's film based on a popular short story and the studios caught fire in the middle of production, but I'm sure he'll find a way around this.

[Sarmoung]

Now, if I hadn't clicked I would not have had the news of the Olsens in that possible remake. Oh, joy of joys!

I wanted to express my frustrations in you having Netflix and it being more of a challenge for me to get my hands on Korean releases here in the UK at affordable prices. Sometimes the DVDs get through by mail, sometimes they come with a postman attached, demanding a stiff tariff payment.

[IA]

"There are a handful of very good Korean black comedies, and The Quiet Family is one of the best."

Okay. So what are the other ones? I'd like to track down the handful you mentioned. Do tell.

[Filmbrain]

Well, there's 301/302, the wonderful Barking Dogs Never Bite (a review of which is forthcoming), The Hot Roof and The Humanist. Some have classified Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance as such, but that's arguable. Then there is Kim Ji-woon's follow-up to The Quiet Family, The Foul King, though I wasn't crazy about that one.

[Adam]

Michael Booth of the Denver Post wrote "Don't wait for Dreamworks to cast Jessica and Ashlee Simpson in the remake. Go see 'A Tale of Two Sisters' while it remains a Korean work of art." Although, whether or not this is meant as a joke or really true, I'm not sure. I hope Booth is just being funny, because such a remake would be scary that Tale of 2 Sis's, although scary in a completely different way.

[nkw88]

At last you saw 'The Hot Roof'.
Very Funny feminist black comedy!!

[nkw88]

and some Hong Sang-Soo films can be included in
this category.

"Even though we cannot be human, we should not
become monster." -'Turning Gate'.

[rob leickner]

I will list my three least favorite Korean films- Joint Securtiy Area, Natural City and Tale of Two Sisters. In comparison to Turning Gate, Samaria, and Oldboy these films just look and feel like any piece of crap served up in the wasteland known as the American Multiplex. The third act of tale of Two Sister's (if you can call it that) is such a let down I I literally yelled out- you got to be kidding- during it's run at the Vancovuer Film fest. This movie is so content to be just like movies such as Indentity that you could almost forget that Korea is going through a renaissance very similar to France and Italy during the 60's. I can only imagine that The Quiet family is a better film since it was made before the Sixth Sense and The Others. I am sorry to rant but this movie was so well shot and directed that it made me angry when it ended like it did. Song Kang-ho and Choi Min-sik are both amazing actors so I might check it out.

[Filmbrain]

Rob -

While I agree with you that Tale of Two Sisters may not be one of the best Korean films of recent years, and that it is indeed commercial, there are elements to it that make it far superior to the films of one-note-Shamalayan. Though I guessed the "twist" early on, I was actually surprised by the ending.

It's a sad and painful truth that this "renaissance" is nearly over, as Korean studios have realized that there's money to be made on high-concept action flicks.