Japanese films (houga) are a unique genre of cinema that I’m fascinated with, and whenever I watch one I’m captivated by how there’s usually no structure, unlike Hollywood films which are generally formed in three acts for maximum emotional involvement by the audience. Instead, the story in a Japanese film meanders here and there until it reaches whatever conclusion is coming, which is not unlike life, when you think about it. I recently watched an interesting film called Kamemo Shokudo (Kamemo Dining Hall), about a Japanese woman and two friends who run a Japanese restaurant in Helsinki, Finland, specializing in onigiri, the “soul food of Japan.” At first their only customer is a Finnish manga otaku who shows up wearing a different kanji T-shirt every day, and the restaurant has trouble attracting other customers, who don’t know what to make of the new restaurant. They experiment with local foods, making rice balls with reindeer meat inside, and have many adventures as they’re slowly accepted by the residents of the city.
Making onigiri in Finland at Ruokala Lokki (aka Kamome Shokudo)
