This is one of those films where nothing really happens, yet things happen. There is no specific plot to speak of, just the characters carrying on through whatever circumstances there are. I don’t think I’ve come across movies from other countries that do these kind of films better than Japan. They’ve seemed to have mastered emptiness to the point of it being an art-form.
Or as some would call it: slice-of-life narratives.
There is a certain charm to it, but it can be an annoyance to others who expect more ‘art’. (Like this perhaps?)
This movie starts with Sachie (Satomi Kobayashi) talking about chubby seagulls in Finland and how she might have fed a cat to death, which might be an explanation to why she opened a diner and called it “Seagull Diner”. Then we see three ladies pass in front of the store, look in to the rather empty place where Sachie is wiping the cups, and they remark she had been open for a month and no one had ever been in there. Sachie gives them a warm inviting smile, and they walk off.
When she does get her first customer in the form of Tommi (Jarkko Niemi), she insists he will never have to pay for coffee – ever – as he’s her first customer. He appears to be into Japanese culture, wearing clothes with Japanese iconography and images, speaking decent Japanese and asking if she knows the lyrics to the Gatchama theme. She gets some help when she meets Midori (Hairi Katagiri) who has just turned up in Helsinki, and in turn helps her, who in turn helps Sachie with the diner. Then they meet others, and along comes Masako (Masako Motai) who has arrived in Helsinki but has lost her luggage. And then… and then… and then…
And so it goes for the hundred minutes or so as the movie carries on and we get the comforting warmth of kindness rewarding kindness with very minor peaks into the backgrounds of our three primary characters. Yet none of it really seem to matter nor is there any actual character path or growth. There is only Sachie and her confidence that things will change, which means her diner might be successful, but if it isn’t she’ll just close it and move on to something else. It’s life.
In that, director / writer Naoko Ogigami (adapting the novel by Yôko Mure) enhances the charm with the help of her stars, Japanese and Finnish. The cinematography has a deceptively simple yet magical quality to it (and even a moment of magic happens mysteriously within the story). There are doses of humour – like when Sachie publicly serves onigiri for the first time; making coffee the way a customer supposedly recommends – interlaced with the very light drama.
If this was an anime, the food would be deliciously enticing, but you could imagine the aroma wafting in from your screen here. Frankly, if this was an anime, it would be on must must-watch list along the likes of Polar-Bear Cafe, Yuru Camp, K-On, and the like. Simple easy-going shows that one might watch to relax, and maybe learn some Japanese… well, in a way.
Despite not having an actual plot, the movie flows well from circumstance to circumstance, with our characters meeting each moment as it comes and carrying on. You wouldn’t feel the length of the movie, slim as it is, and there is nothing you could anticipate in what might happen next.
In that, this is pure comfort viewing allowing you to slowly sink into the movie and just go with the flow.
Rating: 🍙🍙🍙1/2 /5
Directed by Naoko Ogigami
Written by Naoko Ogigami & Yôko Mure
Stars Satomi Kobayashi, Hairi Katagiri, Masako Motai, Jarkko Niemi, Tarja Markus, Markku Peltola, Anita Linnasola
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