Sympathetic comedy with likable actors and colorful cinematography from Japan . Enjoyable comedy delivers a lot of silly -but also really sentimental- situations, entertainment and amusement .The flick provides emotions , love stories , twisted incidents , funny comical sketches , tongue-in-cheek , grotesque situations and above all , it especially contains catching touches of humor and irony . Los Japón is a peculiar comedy that begins with a real death : Emperor Satohito has died not having children nor heir to rule Japan . Forced the Japanese government to locate a possible descendant all over the world to go on the throne, the Japanese authorities find in the archives an old history about ¨Hasekura Tsunenaga¨, an Emperor Kanmu's nephew who in 1614 traveled Coria del Río, a little town of Sevilla (Andalusia), falling in love of a Sevillian woman and marrying her for never returning Japan . The investigation ends in his descendant , the Andalusian Paco , a worker in the car factory and usual striker against the poweful Japanese company . Hidaka, Emperor Satohito's assistant , moves Spain to meet Paco (Dani Rovira) in Coria del Río, where he lives with his spouse Encarni (Maria Leon) , their teenage children (older Paqui : Cinta Ramirez and younger Fran. Castiñeira) and gandfather Don Francisco (Antonio Dechent) . At the beginning Paco is reluctant to accept the throne . Subsequently , he accepts Hidaka's proposal and all the family move Tokyo for living in the Imperial Palace . But there things go wrong.....
Funny , heartwarming and uneven comedy , appointed for all kind of public about an agreeable premise : a family moves to Japan to inherite the Imperial Throne , there they bear several ungainliness , confusion and crazy mayhem , as their life at the Imperial Palace resulting anyone could be imagine . This is a lovely , attractive and charming flick with cultural clashes between Japanese and Spanish people . In the film they are giggles , irony , comedy , almost-surrealist scenes about a diverting family suffering unfortunes as serious limitations to learn Japanase's language and strange customs ; including a great number of misadventures , distresses and blunders . From the start to finish the good mood and humor are continuous . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly enjoyable , being a passable comedy with sweet as well as hilarious touches . There are some nice jokes in the film and the cast , playing eccentric characters , make a cosy fit . Discorcerting and charming screenplay at times , though middlingly written and paced by director Alvaro Diaz Lorenzo himself . The main and supoort cast deliver attractive and functional interpretations . Dani Rovira gives a likeable acting in his usual style as a 40 years old Sevillian syndicalist, atheist and republican , anti-monarchical , usually worried about the situation of his job colleagues and who becomes involved into problem at the far orient . It packs an atmospheric and moving musical score by Julio de La Rosa . As well as colorful and brilliant cinematography by Valentín Álvarez. The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Álvaro Díaz Lorenzo , and containing some flaws and too much silliness .Alvaro is an expert on nice comedies as La Lista Deseos , Señor Dame Paciencia , Despedida , Cafe Solo o Con Ellas . Rating : 5.5/10 . The flick will appeal to Spanish modern comedy enthusiasts . Worthwhile watching for Dani Rovira fans .
The film is partially based on a historical biography about Hasekura Tsunenaga , the facts were the following ones : Before arriving in Spain, the galleon made a brief stay in Havana, Hasekura Tsunenaga being the first Japanese to visit Cuba. The next stop for the diplomatic mission was Europe, in which they crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a Spanish galleon from New Spain, arriving at Sanlúcar de Barrameda and being received with honors by the Duke of Medina Sidonia on October 5, 1614. After a brief stay, two galleys were assembled to navigate the Guadalquivir river, reaching the Sevillian town of Coria del Río. From there, they traveled on foot and in floats to Seville on October 23, 1614. In the Sevillian capital, after crossing the Triana bridge, which served as the main access to the city in the 16th century, the embassy was received with much fervor and enthusiasm by the civil population and the local nobility. They met with the warden and visited various buildings, including the Giralda in Seville and the Real Alcázar, where they stayed. Days later, on October 27, 1614, the intentions of the letter are made known by reading a letter written by Date Masamune, embroidered in gold and adorned with natural motifs. In it, Masamune's desire for a religious agreement with the King for the dispensation of more missionaries was made known, at the same time that he requested a commercial agreement between Spain and Japan; and he is given, as a gift to the city, a katana and a wakizashi. Their whereabouts are unknown after having been later stolen during the Revolution of 1868. After being hosted in Seville for a time and departing from it, Hasekura passed through various cities in order to reach Madrid and thus be able to have a royal audience with Felipe III, King of Spain. Specifically, his itinerary was marked by cities such as Córdoba, Toledo and Getafe. The embassy finally arrived in Madrid on December 20, 1614 and received lodging in the monastery of San Francisco. Going to the Real Alcázar of Madrid on January 30, with the help of Sotelo serving as interpreter, Hasekura held an audience with Felipe III, and handed him two letters: a letter written by Hasekura, in which he announced the acceptance of the Christian faith; and another by Masamune, who explained how the trade process would become if the King responded affirmatively to the treaty. It gave evidence of the construction of new Spanish ships in Japanese territory, the receipt of Spanish products and merchandise, and the possibility that the Spanish could receive land in Japan. Masamune also offered to apply sanctions to the Dutch and Portuguese, rivals with the Spanish in the Japanese archipelago. Faced with all this, the King replied that he would do everything possible to fulfill his requests. As a sign of his Catholic faith, Hasekura was baptized in the Monastery of the Royal Barefoot in Madrid on February 17, 1615 by the Archbishop of Toledo, his godfather being the Duke of Lerma, valid of the King, and renamed Felipe Francisco Hasekura ( Faxecura or Faxicura, according to the transliteration of the Japanese of the time). The name Felipe honored King Felipe III; and the name Francisco to the Franciscans, an order to which his companion Fray Luis Sotelo belonged and a part of the evangelizers of Japan in the 16th century. His baptism, beyond being granted by his own Christian conviction, also served to give an image of his belonging to religion and thus deepen ties with the Spanish Court; especially the King, who should have the last word.
