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Cafe Lumiere cover art

Cafe Lumiere Details

2004 Certificate U
  • 60
  • from 670 members

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, one of China's greatest filmmakers, honours the memory of the great Yasujiro Ozu in the beautiful CAFE LUMIERE. Like Ozu, Hou tries to capture honesty and reality in the film, which stars pop idol Yo Hitoto as Yoko, a young woman who makes her way through life almost casually, not letting anything get her too .. Read more

Starring Yo Hitoto, Tadanobu Asano, Masato Hagiwara, Yo Kimiko
Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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Cafe Lumiere cover art

Cafe Lumiere

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, one of China's greatest filmmakers, honours the memory of the great Yasujiro Ozu in the beautiful CAFE LUMIERE. Like Ozu, Hou tries to capture honesty and reality in the film, which stars pop idol Yo Hitoto as Yoko, a young woman who makes her way through life almost casually, not letting anything get her too upset or too excited. She regularly visits Hajime (Tadanobu Asano) at his small bookstore, where he orders books and CDs especially for her; she has a particular interest in the Chinese composer Jiang Ewn-Ye. She returns home to visit her stepmother (Kimiko Yo) and father (Nenji Kobayashi), who care about her and love her but never take interest in her life. In fact, the characters in the film prefer superficial relationships, that may have some meaning but are not very deep. Yoko seems happiest, or at least most at home, when she's on a train, heading somewhere else; she's never quite content in the moment itself. Hou's film is gorgeous to watch, with long, well-framed shots featuring natural sound and lighting. The story plays out slowly, mimicking real life, with little artifice. There are no big crescendos or dirty secrets unfolding, just a charming, compelling tale about everyday characters doing everyday things.

Starring Yo Hitoto, Tadanobu Asano, Masato Hagiwara, Yo Kimiko, Nenji Kobayashi
Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Run time DVD: 1 hr 43 mins
Certificate Certificate U
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: Japanese
Subtitles DVD: English
Released Production year: 2004

To Rent:
DVD: 19 Sep 2005

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Rating breakdown

670 Member ratings
  • 100
42
  • 90
29
  • 80
98
  • 70
93
  • 60
134
  • 50
82
  • 40
69
  • 30
42
  • 20
56
  • 10
25

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    • Cafe Lumiere

    • Cafe Lumiere
      Hou Hsiao-Hsien, one of China's greatest filmmakers, honours the memory of the great Yasujiro Ozu in the beautiful CAFE LUMIERE. Like Ozu, Hou tries to capture honesty and reality in the film, which stars pop idol Yo Hitoto as Yoko, a young woman who makes her way through life almost casually, not ...

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