All films are Hungarian premiers.

Program:

June 8, 2015 19:00 - Rinco’s Restaurant

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by Mai Tominaga

Japanese release date: 2010

So devastated is Rinco (Kou Shibasaki) by a broken relationship that she loses the ability to speak, and returns to the bosom of her native home and free-spirited mother, Ruriko. Unsure of how to begin the healing process, Rinco is sure of one thing that makes her happy: cooking, and decides to open a small eatery that serves only one set of customers per day.

There is no menu. Instead, Rinco lets her culinary skills and imagination run wild, preparing miraculous meals customized to her guests’ tastes and fancies. Little by little, a rumor builds that the “Rinco’s restaurant” is the place to go for the fulfillment of one’s dreams. But will it be so for Rinco, who despite making others happy with her food, must resolve conflicts with her mother, and contend with an earth-shattering secret that has been kept from her.

Experience a delectable, warm-hearted tale about mother-daughter bonds rooted in a universal theme: “food is a key to life.”

June 9, 2015 19:00 - A Tale of Samurai Cooking: A True Love Story

Runtime:121 minutes

Release date: 2013

Haru has an excellent sense of taste and surpassing skill in the kitchen, but she has been divorced from her first husband after only a year of marriage because of her impetuous character. One day, Haru is proposed by Dennai Funaki, samurai chef from Kaga, to marry his succeeding son. The Funaki family who has served the Lord of Kaga not with the “sword” but with the “kitchen-knife” is well known as “Kitchen Samurai” for generations. However, now, her new husband Yasunobu wields a kitchen-knife with no skill at all. In order to save the family name Funaki and its position as kitchen samurai, Haru decides to teach him the art of cuisine... The story is inspired by a real-life family in Kaga that has survived countless upheavals with its cuisine.

June 10, 2015 19:00 - Mourning Recipe

Runtime: 129 minutes

Directed by Yuki Tanada

Release date: 2013

Heartbroken Yuriko comes back to her parents’ house after deciding to divorce from her husband, only to find a recipe book for life, left by her late mother Otomi who just passed away. The handwritten and lovingly illustrated recipes concern cooking, cleaning and the basic knowledge of the house keeping techniques. They are to let Yuriko and her father (Otomi’s husband) Ryohei face the life by following the monotony of everyday chores, and take a step forward by the 49th days after her death – the day a memorial service will be held according to Buddhist teaching for the family and friends. With the help from two young strangers, the garishly-dressed Imo and the Japanese-Brazilian Haru, the family slowly begins to rebuild their lives as they learn the life and profound love of Otomi and get ready for the great party on the 49th day as Otomi has wished.

June 11, 2015 19:00 - The God of Ramen

Documentary

Runtime: 90 minutes

Release date: 2013

A ramen shop named “Taishoken” and has 50 years history is known for its endless lines.

The modest shop in the back of an alley was buzzing with activity -- with customers waiting in line, regulars who came to eat and help out on a daily basis and apprentices crammed into the tiny kitchen. The apprentices aren’t there just to learn the secret of his ramen. Without exception, they agree the main reason people flock to Taishoken is “the boss.” They’re all drawn to his unique personality.

But what cameras have shot from 2001 was the darkness of Yamagishi’s heart. It revealed truths that Yamagishi had kept hidden for years. He was carrying a heavy physical and emotional burden. He had locked up memories of his wife, who supported him for 25 of the 50 years he had dedicated to ramen. He suffered from a series of debilitating medical issues that slowly eroded his ability to work. And the death of his wife has come. But still he is in the shop. What drove him to go on making ramen…? We see in the screen a way of life called “Taishoken”.

June 12, 2015 19:00 - Ramen Samurai

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by Naoki Segi

Release date: 2012

Hikaru is working as a designer at a mid-level Tokyo ad agency. Years ago he left home hoping to make a career as a designer in far-off Tokyo. But disaster strikes, Hikaru's father Noboru dises and Hikaru returns to his hometown of Kurune on Kyushu Island. Starting with one of the region's famed Yatai stalls, Noboru and his long-suffering wife, Yoshiko had fought long and hard against grinding poverty to eventually end up owning their own, very popular ramen noodle bar. Noboru had spent years developing his own special variety of very popular ramen noodles. Hikaru is faced with the challange of maintaning his father's reputation while developing his own, signature ramen dish. Despite many setbacks, Hikaru is spured on by Yoshiko's timely tales of the old days when Kurune's famed Yatai stalls had been beacons of hope. After a long-running battle with town planners who want to turn the Yatai area into a sterile, pedestrian plaza, Hikaru finally manages to produce his own signature ramen dish and almost single-handedly revives the famous Yatai of Kurune.

June 13, 2015 19:00 - Kamome Diner

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by Naoko Ogigami

Release date: 2005

Sachie is a Japanese woman living alone in Helsinki, who is trying single-handedly to establish a new cafe serving Japanese-style food. However, it has no customers. Eventually a young Finnish anime enthusiast comes for coffee and becomes the cafe's first regular, though as her first customer he gets to eat and drink there for free.

Midori is a Japanese woman who has just arrived in Finland for an indefinite time and without any definite plans. She and Sachie happen to meet in a bookstore and she starts to help out in the cafe. Later, Masako, another Japanese woman on her own, turns up. Her baggage has been lost by an airline, and before long she too starts to work in the cafe. Over the course of the film, the cafe gradually gains more customers, and the Japanese women make more friends with the local people.

Venue: Toldi Mozi
Address: Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 36-38.

Date: June 8-13, 2015 19:00

The entry is 500 HUF!

Source: http://www.jfbp.org.hu/en/events/japanese-film-week-toldi-mozi/155