The Taste of Tea

"We were all watching the sunset, at the edge of the universe."

2004 2h 23m JA

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 181🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 7,676

ComedyDramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A spell of time in the life of the five-piece Haruno family in rural Tochigi Prefecture. Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project. Uncle Ayano, a successful music producer, is looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Sachiko is concerned with why she seems to be followed by a giant version of herself. As the lazy days pass by, each member of the family is followed in a series of episodic vignettes.

“We were all watching the sunset, at the edge of the universe.”

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Cast

Maya Suzuno
Sachiko Haruno
Takahiro Sato
Hajime Haruno
Tadanobu Asano
Ayano Haruno
Satomi Tezuka
Yoshiko Haruno
Tatsuya Gashuin
Akira Todoroki
Tomokazu Miura
Nobuo Haruno
Anna Tsuchiya
Aoi Suzuishi
Tomoko Nakajima
Akira Terako

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Katsuhito Ishii
Writers: Katsuhito Ishii
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Katsuhito Ishii, shot by Kosuke Matsushima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tempo Little. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Katsuhito Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Maya Suzuno and Takahiro Sato and Tadanobu Asano carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "We were all watching the sunset, at the edge of the universe.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0413893 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Katsuhito Ishii directs. Kosuke Matsushima behind the camera. Tempo Little scores. Katsuhito Ishii cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 22 years ago.
2Directed by Katsuhito Ishii, shot by Kosuke Matsushima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Tempo Little. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Katsuhito Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Maya Suzuno and Takahiro Sato and Tadanobu Asano carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "We were all watching the sunset, at the edge of the universe.".
7IMDB entry: tt0413893 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Released under 13 different titles around the world.