| Kamome Shokudō |
| Directed by |
Naoko Ogigami |
| Written by |
Naoko Ogigami |
| Starring |
Hairi Katagiri,
Satomi Kobayashi,
Tarja Markus,
Masako Motai,
Jarkko Niemi,
Markku Peltola |
| Release date(s) |
2006 |
| Running time |
102 min. |
| Language |
Japanese, Finnish |
| IMDb profile |
Kamome Shokodō (かもめ食堂, Kamome shokodō?) is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Japanese director Naoko Ogigami, based on a novel by Yōko Mure. The film is set in the Finnish capital Helsinki, and follows a Japanese woman who sets up a diner serving Japanese food in the city, and the friends she makes in the process.
Cast members include: Hairi Katagiri (Midori), Satomi Kobayashi (Sachie, the shopkeeper), Tarja Markus (Liisa), Masako Motai (Masako) and Jarkko Niemi (Tommi).
Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Sachie is a Japanese woman living in Helsinki, who has single-handedly established a new cafe serving Japanese-style food. However, it has no customers. Eventually a young Finnish manga enthusiast comes for coffee, and becomes the cafe's first regular.
Midori is a Japanese woman who has just arrived in Finland, for an indefinite time and without any definite plans. She and Sachie happen to meet in another cafe, and she starts to help out in the cafe.
Later, Masako, another Japanese woman on her own, turns up. Her baggage has been lost by an aiplane company, and before long she too starts to work in the cafe.
Over the course of the film, the cafe gradually gains more customers, and the Japanese women make more friends with the local people.
