Sweet Bean

"A small little Dorayaki shop on the outskirts of Tokyo."

2015 1h 53m JA

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 623

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The master of a dorayaki pastry store hires a 76-year-old woman whose talents attract customers from all over. But she's hiding a troubling secret. Life's joys are found in the little details, and no matter what may be weighing you down, everyone loves a good pastry.

“A small little Dorayaki shop on the outskirts of Tokyo.”

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Cast

Kirin Kiki
Tokue
Masatoshi Nagase
Sentaro
Kyara Uchida
Wakana
Miki Mizuno
Wakana's Mother
Etsuko Ichihara
Yoshiko
Miyoko Asada
Shop Owner's Wife
Taiga Nakano
Yohei
Wakato Kanematsu
Wakato

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Naomi Kawase
Writers: Naomi Kawase
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, France, Germany

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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Japan, France, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Naomi Kawase, shot by Shigeki Akiyama. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kirin Kiki and Masatoshi Nagase and Kyara Uchida carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A small little Dorayaki shop on the outskirts of Tokyo.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4298958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Naomi Kawase directs. Shigeki Akiyama behind the camera. David Hadjadj scores. Tina Baz cuts. Produced in Japan, France, Germany. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2International production across 3 countries: Japan, France, Germany.
3Directed by Naomi Kawase, shot by Shigeki Akiyama. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by David Hadjadj. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tina Baz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kirin Kiki and Masatoshi Nagase and Kyara Uchida carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A small little Dorayaki shop on the outskirts of Tokyo.".
8IMDB entry: tt4298958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "japan", "based on novel or book", "cooking", "restaurant".
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Shigeki Akiyama
Original score: David Hadjadj
Editing: Tina Baz
Costume design: Miwako Kobayashi
Makeup / hair: Sayaka Matsuda
Sound: Olivier Goinard
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Status: Released
Box office: $124,518
Original language: JA
Certification (US): AA
IMDB: Sweet Bean (2015)

Also by

Naomi Kawase

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-08-18
★ 8/10
Encountering an unexpected and its impacts forever. The Japanese foods considered as the healthiest food in the world. Yes, it's a food and restaurant related theme, and those who loves them should give it a try. It was another film like 'Midnight Diner' that I saw a couple of months back, which focused on a small eatery as this one. What fascinated me was its simple storyline and the realistic approach. It was based on the novel of the same name of the original Japanese title 'An' which translated as 'Bean Paste'. It is not just a food film, but well explored relationship of the people from different generations. This is quite common I found in the Japanese films, yet very distinct from other similar ones. There were three characters in the films that kind of represents past, present and future. Where they all learn some important lessons from each others. I don't know that was intentionally done, but that is how I saw it. The most of the story's perspective was from the middle aged man, Sentaro who runs a small dorayaki shop which regularly visited by the students of the nearby school and the locals. His story is kind of depressing. Not the film, just what he went through in his life and after that his life remained quite a low without an alternative. Though, there were no flashbacks, but just revealed by orally when the right time comes. One day a very old woman named Tokue comes asking for a job after seeing the signboard outside the shop and somehow she manages to grab it. Later she teaches him to make his own bean paste. This is the part I like very much, because it might have not revealed fully how to make a bean paste, but definitely you would feel you want to taste it right away when you see the beautifully prepared paste filled in the tray. So I won't be surprised if you visit a Japanese restaurant just to make your first taste of dorayaki or whenever you visit there, remember this film and ask for it. "It's like a first date, the young couple needs to get friendly." So with such a development, the film takes a leap to the next stage of the story. Where the shop sees the rise in customer influx and by its success, Tokue offered to stay and help further. On the other side a middle school girl, Wakana who has not decided about her future, whether to attend the high school or get a job in Takue's shop which obviously went to the old woman. In the meantime, all the three develop a close relationship to each other in the short time. Despite from the different social group, but the strong connection with the shop. But one day as the gossip spreading like a wildfire all over the town about the shop, followed by a couple of unexpected events, the story nears to its end part with an emotional episode. The most of the film looked like a poetry. The director, who also wrote the screenplay did an awesome job. The cast's performances were outstanding. I have seen them all in different films, even though I did not recognise them at first. I think it is the actors and the wonderful cinematography that made this film looks better than its story. People put their recipe in a book and publish them or make the videos and release online, but I think this kind of film is definitely would make lot impact on, even for the non-food lovers to have a close look which would generate a serious desire and hunger. Just like 'The Ramen Girl', but not as good as this one. A film that preserves a precious dish digitally and makes reach corners of the world. By now you know that I loved it, but there's something I did not like from it which is the third act. Actually, that final act was a bit drag. Compared to the earlier sections, those last 20 or so minutes were quite an unnecessary stretch. I am an easy prey to sentimental scenes, but for this film I did not feel a thing. Other than that, how it all ended pretty neatly wrapped which I applaud loudly. Whatever I said all the good and bad stuffs about it, there are some other topics as well in it which came as a side message, but that overtook everything on the final stage and ended as it was the centre of the story like that about treating an older person with disability. I had said many times before in my earlier reviews that I easily fall for seeing the old people suffering which happened in this. So heartbreaking. Except a very few defects that affected me which might won't make a big deal for others, I recommend the film, especially for the drama fans and food lovers. 8/10
badelf2021-12-25
★ 9/10
This is a beautiful film overall which is steeped in Japanese culture. The direction is tight and the acting is great. It's a touching story about shame, honor, redemption and friendship. All of this centered around food - dorayaki in particular.