Jan
20
2008
The Star of Prefecture Government (Star Reformer)
Posted by luna6 Leave a Comment
Movie Review : The Star of Prefecture Government | Kencho no hosh
Release Date : February 25, 2006
Country : Japan
Director : Hiroshi Nishitani
Starring : Yuji Oda, Kou Shibasaki
Runtime : 131 min
Rating : 7.0
Users Rating: 6.17 
(6 votes)
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There’s always the first time for everything and with “The Star of Prefecture Government,” this would be the first Asian movie that I can recall set within a grocery store … and it works! Granted the movie doesn’t hide its intentions to appeal to a vast demography and consequently you get saddled with a few wishy washy scenes, but at its core there’s a lot to love about this film.
First I’d like to give a little background for folks that have never had the good fortunes to visit an actual grocery store in Asia. Usually, you’ll find attendants standing at the corner of every aisle eager to show you the latest products or sample bits of whatever tasteful treats they are cooking on their mini grills. It’s a visual and tasteful treat that I would highly recommend. If you venture down to the basement area you’ll find a mini food court area with usually outstanding dishes for very reasonable prices. Well…they should be outstanding as long as they don’t follow the habits of the “Mantendo Supermarket” featured in “The Star of Prefecture Government.”
In “The Star of Prefecture Government” Nomura (Yuji Oda) is a rigid, play it by the book, local government official, who also happens to be one its rising stars. He draws up a plan to build an elaborate retirement home for the elderly that gets the enthusiastic approval of his peers. But a few citizen watch groups comes out against the plan because of its excessive costs. Nomura counters with a proposes to send seven of the staff members into the retail sector for a six month period to learn better cost management Nomura is one of the seven members assigned to the project and gets assigned to the Mantendo Supermarket.
The Mantendo Supermarket isn’t your glitzy new supermarket, but rather an old decrepit grocery store that appeals to cost conscious shoppers. On his first day at the job, he’s assigned to work under the tutelage of a part timer named Ninomiya (Kou Shibaski). Ninomiya doesn’t particularly take to Nomura’s airy ways and sticks him in the bedding department, out of her way and the majority of customers. Eventually Nomura finds himself working in the kitchen of the supermarket and immediately finds himself aghast at the less than kosher manner in which the staff prepares boxed lunches. Nomura proposes sweeping changes for the kitchen, based on his background in government planning. A manger at the grocery store proposes a competition, between Nomura’s new methods and the tried and true methods used in the kitchen. Nomura’s plan flops spectacularly. More problems arise for the grocery store from city health inspectors. The grocery store has failed two health inspections and face closure if they don’t implement sweeping changes. Can Nomura save the Mantendo Supermarket?
From the beginning, there’s little doubt where the movie will go or the final outcome the movie, but that’s OK. The joy found in the movie resides with the interaction between Nomura and the staff at the grocery store. Kou Shibaski, seemingly fully recovered from her dreadful performance in “Japan Sinks,” performs admirably as a tough working class lady. Main lead Yuji Oda is better known for his work in Japanese dramas, but he lays out a thoroughly believable performance as a stiff government official that slowly learns that not everything can be gleaned from charts and statistics.
At the movie’s core “The Star of Prefecture Government” shares a lot with Sang-il Lee’s “Hula Girls.” Both movies contain distinct subject matter, with both stories containing a hot shot city slicker adapting to slower small town life and eventually discovering the charms found within that setting. Inevitably the city slicker turns out to be the biggest supporter of the community as they battle to save that group from outside forces.
There’s a lot to love about the “The Star of Prefecture Government”. The insights into the workings of a grocery store were fascinating, the manner in which the story unveils a root for the underdog story was infectious, and the subtle romance between Nomura and Ninomiya was a nice touch that didn’t feel forced. Take out that one overly contrived scene at the end and you have one very sweet film.
buy The Star of Prefecture Government from YesAsia
Cast:
Yuji Oda – Nomura (Mr. Prefecture)
Kou Shibasaki – Ninomiya
Bengal – Kazuyoshi Kurusu
Gaku Hamada – Manabu Aki
Hisashi Igawa – Kanji Shimizu
Koji Ishizaka – Hitoshi Koga
Mahiru Konno – Takako Shinozaki
Toru Masuoka – Takao Asano
Jin Nakayama – Taketsugu Shinozaki
Setsutan Oh – Reimi Kim
Kaoru Okunuki – Hiromi Sato
Wakako Sakai – Yuriko Ogura
Kuranosuke Sasaki – Keita Sakurai
Toshihiro Wada – Kyoichi Hamaoka
Kenichi Yajima – Yasuo Kitamura
Sayaka Yamaguchi – Mika Tabata
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Hula Girls, La Grand Chef
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2006 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movies |