Sanma no aji 秋刀魚之味

CXB2942
Originally uploaded by chaxiubao

Have you ever noticed that one of the topics that we all like to converse about in a dinner is film? I guess it's reciprocal because in one way or the other movie is about the life and somehow the cast inevitably need to eat in the course of the movie. Another reason I guess could be the fact that they both touch our heart like no other form of art so it is easy for us to jump from one to the other.

So what am I suggesting here? A movie to talk about whenever you enjoy the seasonal sanma (that is, Pacific saury) is Sanma no aji (lit. the taste of Pacific saury, aka The Autumn Afternoon) directed by the great Yasujiro Ozu. Watch it and see if you share the same bittersweet of life as Ozu was trying to get across.

[Edit: if anything, Ozu shares the same poetic affiliation to his food as most writers in China do: another great film by him is called Ochazuke no aji (茶泡飯之味), which literally means the taste of tea over rice].