A young woman Rinco (Kou Shibasaki) loves food and dreams of opening her own restaurant. She moves to the city to learn more about food from all over the world. But Rinco becomes so heart-broken from a personal relationship loss she loses her voice.
To recover, Rinco decides to go back to her hometown and stay with her eccentric mother and her pet pig. She has grown apart from her mother over the years so living with her isn't always easy. Eventually Rinco decides to open a restaurant and she begs her mother to let her convert one of the sheds into a tiny restaurant. She will accept only one customer a day, allowing for thoughtful preparation for that customer.
Strange and wonderful things begin to happen to those who eat at her restaurant. Not only are their appetites satisfied by the good food but lives begin to change for the better. Rinco's food is not only nourishing but healing for the soul as well. Reservations begin to come in and it is not long before jealousy rears its ugly head and Rinco's relationship with her mother hits the usual hurdles.
Kou Shibasaki is so good in this role as Rinco. Oh my gosh. Is this the same young woman who terrorized her classmates in a match to the death only ten years ago? To do an entire film without speaking and still convey so much with such subtle glances and facial expressions is amazing. She does such a good job. I could 'not listen' to her forever!
Rinco's Restaurant a fantasy tale based on the novel by Ito Ogawa, adapted for the screen by Hiroko Takai and directed by Mai Tominaga. Tominaga really excels when she has Rinco alone in the kitchen. She starts each scene bathing Rinco in light through the kitchen window, as if inspiration were coming to her as she plans her next meal. And what is it with Japanese and movies about food? Tominaga uses as much care shooting her film as Rinco does making her food. Each is using soft hands with delicate motions in their cooking and filming. It moves as such a gingerly pace.
Some of the fantasy elements do feel a bit odd but it is better just to go with it and let the kaleidoscope of images dance on screen. Takai's screenplay does feel like it doesn't quite know when to stop either offering up numerous endings, any of which would have been a suitable ending for the film on their own and still left the audience satisfied. Because the message in Rinco's Restaurant is put your heart into anything and results can be magical. If you invest in lives of those around you, however you express love, look forward to positive results. What a nice way to end my time in Montreal. Sigh.