Café Lumière (2003)

Highly Recommended

Japan

Feature Film

Original Title: 珈琲時光

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Writers: Hou Hsiao-hsien, Chu T'ien-wen

Cinematographer: Lee Pin Bing

Cast: Yo Hitoto, Asano Tadanobu, Hagiwara Masato, Yo Kimiko, Kobayashi Kenji

Hou’s touching, beautifully drawn tribute to Ozu Yasujirō, produced to celebrate the centenary of the great Japanese master’s birth, follows the movements of a young writer from Tokyo (who is researching the life of a Taiwanese composer who made his name in Japan) over the course of a few days, following her to her parents’ home to tell them of her pregnancy and her decision not to marry her Thailand based Taiwanese boyfriend, as well as detailing her tender interactions with an attractively geeky train enthusiast friend. Iain.Stott