Those who have watched the first movie-version "Midnight diner" or, better still, the TV series and/or manga, may hopefully give an acceding nod to my summary line. The ingredients include the iconic diner operator with a wise-man persona, a parade of one-dimensional and yet interesting support characters (manga-consistent), easy-to-follow plots revealed to the audience by the owner's VO, familiar and touching human stories, minimalist narration style, languid background music and, last but not least, a special dish as the catalyst. There are three independent stories in this second big-screen offering.
With fried pork strip as the motif dish, the first one is a love story or, more precisely, a searching-for-love story. The protagonist is a successful, professional book editor (mainly novels), attractive looking too, who often becomes frustrated at work and romance. Her self-administered prescription is wearing black, funeral attire and pampering herself with the said pork dish at the Midnight Diner. I'll skip the plot development and ask pardon for revealing that there is a happy ending.
The second story features a dual between soba and udon. The main plot line revolves around the bitter-sweet relationship between a widow and her son, a considerate young man who helps his mother run the family soba shop after losing his father at the tender age of eight. Mother and son often patronize Midnight Diner, separately, with the son invariably ordering udon. This is the familiar, universal theme of when should parents let go. In this story, things come to a head when the son drops a bombshell by announcing his wish to marry a woman 15 years older. While the first story is light comedy, this one is a mix of comedy and poignancy. It also has a happy ending.
The third story, arguably, has a happy ending of sorts. The theme is remorse and absolution. An old woman from out-of-town got stranded when conned of her money, and receives help from patrons of Midnight Diner. As the story unfolds, we find out that years ago she had abandoned her husband and young son to elope with another man. Now windowed and remorseful, she is trying to find her estranged son. The motif, catalyst dish is pork chop in soup.
Regardless of your life experience, it is likely that one of these characters and stories will touch you.
With fried pork strip as the motif dish, the first one is a love story or, more precisely, a searching-for-love story. The protagonist is a successful, professional book editor (mainly novels), attractive looking too, who often becomes frustrated at work and romance. Her self-administered prescription is wearing black, funeral attire and pampering herself with the said pork dish at the Midnight Diner. I'll skip the plot development and ask pardon for revealing that there is a happy ending.
The second story features a dual between soba and udon. The main plot line revolves around the bitter-sweet relationship between a widow and her son, a considerate young man who helps his mother run the family soba shop after losing his father at the tender age of eight. Mother and son often patronize Midnight Diner, separately, with the son invariably ordering udon. This is the familiar, universal theme of when should parents let go. In this story, things come to a head when the son drops a bombshell by announcing his wish to marry a woman 15 years older. While the first story is light comedy, this one is a mix of comedy and poignancy. It also has a happy ending.
The third story, arguably, has a happy ending of sorts. The theme is remorse and absolution. An old woman from out-of-town got stranded when conned of her money, and receives help from patrons of Midnight Diner. As the story unfolds, we find out that years ago she had abandoned her husband and young son to elope with another man. Now windowed and remorseful, she is trying to find her estranged son. The motif, catalyst dish is pork chop in soup.
Regardless of your life experience, it is likely that one of these characters and stories will touch you.