The Taste of Tea

The Taste of Tea (茶の味 Cha no Aji)
The Taste of Tea poster
Directed by	Katsuhito Ishii
Produced by	Kazuto Takida Kazutoshi Wadakura
Written by	Katsuhito Ishii
Starring	Tadanobu Asano Takahiro Sato Maya Banno Satomi Tezuka Tomokazu Miura Tatsuya Gashuin Anna Tsuchiya Rinko Kikuchi
Music by	Little Tempo
Cinematography	Kosuke Matushima
Edited by	Katsuhito Ishii
Distributed by	Grasshoppa (Japan) Viz Media (USA)
Release date	July 17, 2004
Running time	143 min.
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

The Taste of Tea (茶の味, Cha no Aji^?) is the third film by Japanese writer and director Katsuhito Ishii. The film has been referred to as a "surreal" version of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander. It was a selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is concerned with the lives of the Haruno family, who live in rural , the countryside north of Tokyo. Nobuo is a hypnotherapist. He teaches his son, Hajime, Go. Hajime becomes an excellent Go player, but he has a rough time with girls and puberty. Yoshiko refuses to be an average housewife and works on animated film projects at home. She uses assistance from grandfather Akira, an eccentric old man who is a former animator and occasional model.

Eight-year-old Sachiko periodically sees a silent, giant-size double of herself which mimics or benignly watches her. She contemplates ways to rid herself of it. Uncle Ayano is a sound engineer and record producer who comes to stay for a visit. He engages in inward reflection, seeks closure regarding an old relationship, and recounts a childhood experience — a tale that influences Sachiko and ties into later events.

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