Sweet Bean broke me a little bit but I understand it needed to do so in order to build me up again. This was yet another solid slice of life story from japanese cinema (they are experts on the genre) on how the we take for granted life.

The film doesn't go anywhere the viewer isn't expecting. It’s a long process that, like Sweet Bean, requires more patience than most would be willing to give. Kawase takes her time crafting scenes, which she sets in the darkness just before dawn. By itself, it would make an excellent stand-alone short film. The arduous process of cooking an pays off when Sentaro’s new, improved dorayaki quickly become a lines-around-the-block success due to word of mouth. Which is also the catalyst for the film’s dramatic conflict.

Kawase depicts the passage of time with beautifully shot changes of season, bookending the film with the vivid cherry blossoms of Spring. When Sweet Bean is leisurely coasting along like this, one can easily get lost in its meditative pull.

I admit this film might not be for everybody, even I had a hard time with it but I am glad I stayed for the entirety of it.