2009/07/02

Tea Movies

Last week I was able to view 3 movies I know of that have tea as the theme - sort of.

There is a Chinese movie called "Tea Love" or 茶恋. It seems to be a Mainland China production about the life-story of Lu Yu. Now such a movie would seem exciting right? Yeah, but this movie wasn't the best. There were so many details left out about Lu Yu's life that the whole movie really gives you no sense of his importance or who he is exactly. All in all, boring. I wish there were a better, newer production with a bigger budget.

There is also a Japanese movie called "Rikyu" or 利休. Exactly the same as the "Tea Love" movie - a life story about Japanese Tea Master Sen no Rikyu. And also equally boring. And exactly no sense of his importance and contribution to tea. At least from reading the subtitles, that's the impression I get.

There is a relatively newer production called Tea Fight or 斗茶. Now this is a movie worth watching. And I would watch it over and over again. The story premise is kind of dumb though. But I totally get it. Lots of interesting characters, and actually a few good lines in there. The dialog switches back and forth between Mandarin and Japanese. All in all, a cool tea movie. Hope there are more tea movies soon like this one.

5 comments:

Jason Witt said...

There are two Western documentaries on tea: "The Meaning of Tea" and "All in this Tea." Then there's "The Renaissance of Tea" which is from Teance and is a video about tea preparation. Finally don't forget Disney's "Alice in Wonderland." That's a classic.

Unknown said...

Hi Warren,

I haven't seen any movies about tea, but my husband and I just made two music videos if that helps! They are for the Calm-a-Sutra scholarship competition.

We'd love to hear what you think.
From YouTube:
The Teacup Tango: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOmoshHoQU0

The Scale of Tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4VFblIDgNI


Sincerely,
Elizabeth Hill

Unknown said...

"Rikyu" may be due for an update, but I think it effectively dramatizes the tumultuous relationship between Sen no Rikyu and the current Japanese daimyo, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was flashy and insecure, while Rikyu, as his advisor and confidant, promoted tea through understated and humble elegance. The movie covered a lot of famous events, including Rikyu's final act of seppuku where he uttered his most famous last words. For a student of Japanese tea, I would recommend the movie.

Jason: Right on with your recommendations as well, and the one for "Alice" really made me smile!

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