A truly unique vision of a whimsical, funny and gently-demented family. The actors do a wonderful job in fleshing out the quirky characters so that they are never cartoons.

The cinematography is fascinating-- sometimes simply beautiful; other times, bizarre. And sometimes the perspectives are distorted just enough so things take on a surreal appearance but you don't exactly know why.

This a character-driven story without a whole lot of plot. If you need a complex storyline, you may be bored, but if you like stories which reveal the inner life of a creative family, this is the film to see.

You know, family films just aren't what they used to be, and what a wonderful notion that is. The only Ishii film that I've seen prior to The Taste of Tea is Shark Skin Man and Hip Peach Girl, and the maturity level of the director was almost unrecognizable.

At first everything in this film feels strangely secluded from the everyday world; the school, the house and the family members who seem extremely timid. The rarely displayed state of normality in family films, as supposed to the somewhat redundant tales of kindred conflicts that Ishii was able to capture, transcended in a refreshing and mesmerizing manner. The behavior of each family member was played out so naturally by the actors that I felt like I was watching a documentary. When the so called "unusual traits" of the family members resurfaces, the transformation is executed smoothly, without wandering off into another genre or changing the intended mood of the film.

I rarely get behind ensemble casts but I hope Ishii will maintain the relationship with these actors for his future projects. Asano as always breathes the ethereally inner distance, yet still feels humanely connected to the world and people in it. No matter how often the word 'subtle' is used to describe films, in reality I think it is a rare achievement. Ishii did a great job of taking his time to let us observe each family member as they go through their daily routines and as they attentively take time to watch over each other.

After seeing her in Kamikaze Girls, I was hoping to see and especially hear more from Anna Tsuchiya, who I think has a great future ahead of her.

I think every bit of detail obtained from the comments and even the poster should give you an idea about what type of film this is. It's comforting to know that in this day and age certain directors don't feel the financial and mainstream strain, and willingly dedicate their time and passion to making such wonderful films.

I haven't had this much fun watching a movie since I saw MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS. Like the Yamadas, this family has its own... eccentricities... Unlike the Yamadas, several family members here are involved in the manga business. Being an Osamu Tezuka fan (ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, BLACK JACK, etc.),any "behind-the-scenes" stories featuring manga or the creation thereof are fascinating to me. (Unlike American comic books, which have been around only a century or so, Japanese "ga" have been around literally for ages...) The day-to-day joys and sorrows of this family are whimsical and poignant and- at one point- downright heartrending. Not too far removed from Real Life. The closing montage is breathtaking (it reminded me of an interview I once saw with the composer Kitaro- who did the music for THE SILK ROAD- who, when asked wherefrom came his inspiration, led the interviewer to a swing erected atop a mountain where he could sit and watch the sun set: his reply was simply to point to the setting sun). THE TASTE OF TEA is a most beautiful movie. See it and see for yourself.