This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition slipcover (designed by Earl Kessler Jr.) was limited to 1,500 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the slipcover.
Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!
Takashi Uno (Yohta Kawase, RUBBER’S LOVER) wants little more from life than to play the bongo under the starlight. When his uncle passes, his freshly divorced cousin inherits their traditional country home and tasks the shy slacker with caring for it. Together with the town’s underdog grocer, the three revert to a joyful childhood dynamic. Leisurely BBQ (the cheapest beef!) and cup noodles, it’s all fun and games until a family from Tokyo led by an unhinged patriarch (screen veteran Kanji Tsuda, JU-ON: THE GRUDGE) and his enigmatic wife (Natsuki Mieda) manifest their desire to open a countryside café at all costs.
Tadashi Nagayama – a protégé of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival since his 2017 Grand Prix-winning debut JOURNEY OF THE TORTOISE – baffles audience expectations at every turn with this mellow yet thoroughly eccentric pastoral comedy about the right to do nothing, Japan’s growing urban-rural divide, and the country’s ongoing nuclear anxieties.
directed by: Tadashi Nagayama
starring: Yohta Kawase, Kanji Tsuda, Natsuki Mieda, Kazua Akieda, Tadahiro Tsuru, Shoichiro Tanigawa
2018 / 96 min / 1.78:1 / Japanese Stereo with English subtitles
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.316456 / 5 from 79 reviews.
Customers praise the excellent release, packaging, and film quality of 'Being Natural' by Kani. The film is described as great and wonderful, though opinions on the ending and comedic elements vary.
Review topics: ["packaging","sound","buy","movie","film","release","slipcover","comedy","flick","ending","story","extras","sticker","shot","moments","storytelling","scenes","acting","characters","cinema","features","life","drama","label","presentation","oddity","man","glow","disc","restoration"].
"A film that shouldn't work at all (especially the 3rd act), but wholly does because of the assured direction and the stellar cast and crew. Gorgeous film and restoration and great special features. Here's hoping Journey of the Tortoise is next!"
"A great little exploration of what it means to exist in the modern world and how one can deal with it."
"Another great find and restoration from Kani. Love the little extras in there— the sticker and the postcard. So cute! And then the disc design. . . I mean, how can you top that? The film itself is absolutely worth a watch, as well."
"Oh to be an artist and live the life of an artist"
""Being Natural" is a great sample of the Japanese curio that combines social satire with slapstick aesthetics in the most entertaining fashion!"
"Good movie and interesting premise"
"Got this movie because it was fairly cheap in the store. But it's a fairly slow and funny movie that has the wackiest ending I've ever seen. It can be a little boring at times, but keep watching, it's totally worth it."
"A funny, engaging, and at times bonkers film. Seeing the worlds collide between 'all-natural' urbanites moving to a rural area is fun. Particularly, since the urban family is not shy about sharing there superior knowledge on natural living. An excellent transfer and packaging."
"I watched this twice in a day, because I had to make sure I didn't just love this because of how absolute bonkers it gets in exactly the way that jives with me. And even though that sharp left turn is very different the second time around, I do think it is thematically concise and emotionally fulfilling. On top of being absolutely bonkers in exactly the way that jives with me. With the rural vs urban thing it's got going on, set in small a town whose nuances always fly above foreign viewers, it could've been alienating. And where I'm from, we don't have the nuclear trauma that plays a (for a foregner viewer) subtle role in Being Natural. But it's obviously human and universal in the ways that matter most."
"Worth watching without much introduction. Recommended."
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