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Suite Dreams
R2 - Japan - Toho Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (8th April 2016). |
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The Film
 "Suite Dreams" AKA "The Wow-choten Hotel" (2006) It’s New Year’s Eve and the five-star Hotel Avanti is as busy as ever to accommodate the many guests for the special evening. Heikichi Shindo (played by Koji Yakusho) is the accommodation manager on top of everything leading up to the countdown, including overseeing important guest needs, supervising the New Year’s Eve event, and overall work of the hotel, but the night is filled with trouble… 1. The outer premises of the hotel is filled with journalists, news cameras, and other media reporters looking for Senator Mutoda (played by Koichi Sato), who is involved in a corruption scandal, taking up the suite room with his political aides. 2. The New Year’s Eve banner was written wrongly, and in desperate need of a new one for replacement, Shindo asks for the hotel’s handwriter Ukon (played by Joe Odagiri) to try to make a new one. Ukon unfortunately says he is only used to writing small such as on invitation cards, making things very difficult to write on a banner size scale. 3. It is the final working day for hotel bellboy Kenji (played by Shingo Katori), who started at the hotel 8 years ago while also performing music on the street in his spare time. He made a commitment years ago: if he has a chance to make it big as a musician, he would take it. Or: if he ever performs live on the street and not a single person would stop and listen, he would quit music entirely and return to his hometown. Since the latter happened, he decides to give up music and the job at the hotel. 4. The blonde-haired call girl (played by Ryoko Shinohara) keeps trying to sneak into the hotel where she is deemed unwelcome. Always slipping away from security, she finds clever ways to sneak back in, trying to find a possible client, whether new or from previously. 5. Mr. Horida (played by Takuzo Kadono) and his wife Yumi (played by Mieko Harada) arrive at the hotel to receive the “Man of the Year Award” from the Stag Directors organization. Although he assumes they would stay in the suite room, it has been suddenly been given to the senator. Things become panicky for Mr. Horida when he sees the blonde-haired call girl at the hotel, as he had relations with her in the past, and that she still keeps some kinky pictures of him on her cellphone, which may disqualify him from the award, ruin his reputation, and put a strain on his marriage. 6. The hotel chairman (played by Shiro Ito) tries on some of the white stage make-up brought by the magician of the New Year’s event, but finds out the make-up is semi-permanent, making him look like a ghastly kabuki actor. Panicked, he searches for cream to remove it but finds it hard to get around the hotel without making the patrons scream in terror when they see his face. 7. Aging enka music singer Zenbu Tokugawa (played by Toshiyuki Nishida) is hounded by elderly women - a superstar in his own right, but secretly has a wish to kill himself due to depression. Not exactly the funniest story arc of the bunch, but it is not one to be taken so seriously, as he doesn’t have the courage to do it himself. 8. Hotel staff Hana Takemoto (played by Takako Matsu) tries on an expensive fur coat in one of the hotel rooms she is supposed to be cleaning, but then is mistaken as the guest by a man with unnaturally large ears (played by Yoshimasa Kondo). Not to get in trouble, she plays along but the small joke becomes a huge mess for her, as she is mistaken for a wealthy man’s mistress. 9. A duck named “Rub-a-dub” (or “Dabu-dabu” in Japanese) brought by the ventriloquist performer gets loose, causing all hotel staff to be on the lookout and not have the guests panic. “The Uchoten Hotel” or "The Wow-Choten Hotel" or the official English title “Suite Dreams” has multiple storylines happening in linear time in a singular place crisscrossing each other, which writer/director Koki Mitani has creatively crafted together. At first the stories may not have much to do with each other besides being set in the same hotel at the same time, but it is later realized the stories and characters are constantly interweaving and influencing others. Characters would drop in and out in backgrounds and also certain characters would be revealed as important plot devices in other storylines. The film is almost like an anti-jigsaw puzzle in which putting everything together would actually cause disaster rather than a satisfying completion. Mitani’s third feature as director, following the award winning comedy films “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald” AKA "Rajio no jikan" (1997) and “All About Our House” AKA "Minna no ie" (2001), has its “Mitani-isms” - a cast of many characters with individual quirks, multiple plots, witty writing, and very long takes featuring multiple characters. Depending on how you count, there are 23 main characters for the film as stated by Mitani but the exact number and how they are counted are both arguable. The Hotel Avanti itself could be considered a character as it is as important as any person in the film and its design and construction are just as individualistic as any human character. And how about Rub-a-dub the duck on the loose? Easily a character as memorable as the humans. Mitani has had extensive experience with writing for both television dramas and stage plays, so interweaving storylines and a setting in a singular location are things he has done in the past, though not to this particular scale. Writing and setting wise, Suite Dreams” is an homage to both the “Grand Hotel” (1932) and “Avanti” (1972). Director Edmund Goulding’s “Grand Hotel” was filled with a huge cast of MGM superstars, multiple comedic story points, and of course a grand hotel setting. Even the hotel room names in “Suite Dreams” are named after the stars such as the “Garbo Room” and the “Barrymore Room”. Mitani has stated multiple times that Billy Wilder is one of his biggest role models as a writer and director, and the hotel in “Suite Dreams” is even named after the Wilder film. For films with a large cast, the characters need to stand out both physically and characteristically, and like “Grand Hotel” and “Avanti”, “Suite Dreams” also includes an impressive roster of name actors in various roles. Koji Yakusho as the hotel accommodation manager goes from straightman to panicked man in the course of the film, and it’s a delight to see him in a comedic MC-like role. Takuzo Kadono playing the Stag Directors award receiver starts with the average looking stuck up middleaged man with a bad combover, but later becomes something closer to a Looney Tunes character. Yoshimasa Kondo as the wealthy man’s son does not seem like much on paper, but with giant prosthetic ears attached to the actor, it’s hard to take him seriously. The list goes on and on with the weirdness of each character, but there are some characters completely underused. Toshiyuki Nishida’s character of the aging suicidal singer, Koichi Sato’s character of the paparazzi followed politician, and Susumu Terajima as the magician are given very little to do during the film (although all three actors would get much bigger roles in Mitani’s subsequent film, “The Magic Hour”). What doesn’t seem to work for “Suite Dreams” is the scale and length - with the amount of characters and plotlines, the 136 minute runtime is quite a stretch for a comedy film. As with underdeveloped characters, some storylines are cut short as well. The suicidal enka singer’s plotline didn’t seem to have a happy ending (though no, he doesn’t die! So possibly should say it is not a fulfilling ending). Without spoiling too much of the character arc, the reveal of Takako Matsu’s character of the maid mistaken for the mistress comes very suddenly and doesn’t seem to be that necessary, like a tacked on ending to connect just one more thing. Why was it necessary to add that her son’s father…. Oh, I won’t spoil it. Despite the negatives “Suite Dreams” is an absolute delight to watch. Connecting the dots along the way, joining in on the panic that the characters go through, and the silliness on a grand scale are definite highlights. The film was a huge success, opening in January 2006 to massive crowds, becoming the 3rd highest grossing Japanese film of that year. Unfortunately even with a Western appeal to the film, it managed to elude distributors from most countries outside Asia, and “Suite Dreams” was like previous Mitani directed films, failed to find an audience outside Japan. Also slightly unfortunate was that the film was nominated for a staggering 11 Japanese Academy Awards and won none. Awards or not, “Suite Dreams” is one hotel you will likely be coming back to. Note this is a region 2 NTSC DVD which can only be played back on region 2 and region free DVD and/or Blu-ray players.
Video
Toho presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with anamorphic enhancement in the NTSC format. The look of the film was extensively thought out, from the colors of the browns within the hotel environment, the ugly green of the (un)lucky doll, and the white snow of winter. The DVD’s THX approved transfer is very good, reproducing colors nicely with no problems such as compression, film damage, or framing errors. The film's runtime is 136:57. 
Audio
Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Although Mitani’s previous film “All About Our House” had a DTS track on the Japanese DVD, this one gets a standard Dolby Digital track. Surprisingly the film has very little music on the soundtrack, with ambient noise and dialogue being the standard throughout, with only the opening and near end scenes with the heavy music cues. First, the dialogue sounds good with clarity and depth. Directional speakers are occasionally used for scenes with many characters in the same setting, but most of it is center based. The music cues come effectively through all speakers. It’s a good soundtrack, but DTS would have helped with the depth more. There are optional English and Japanese subtitles for the film, in a white font. Like director Mitani’s previous films on DVD in Japan, the English subtitles were supervised by Mitani as he was careful to have his humor translated in the best way possible for international audiences. There are no instances of grammar or spelling errors.
Extras
This is the 2-disc edition, with the film on the first disc with a commentary track. All other extras are on the second disc. And sadly for non-Japanese speakers, all the extras are not English friendly, and for widescreen TV owners, none of the extras are in anamorphic widescreen. A single disc edition without the bonus features disc is also available. DISC ONE Audio commentary by director/writer Koki Mitani with Fuji TV announcer Aya Takashima As Mitani has gotten used to doing commentary tracks, he dominates the conversation which is supposed to be moderated by Fuji TV announcer Aya Takashima who also appears in a small role. Mitani talks about the influences from Hollywood screwball comedy, behind the scenes secrets, points out the cameo appearance by two characters from his previous film “All About Our House”, and a lot more during the runtime. in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Teaser (0:32) Trailer (1:56) “Manners” Teaser (0:38) TV Spots (1:52) New Year’s Commercials (2:04) A series of promo spots are here, including the usual style of Mitani taking a page from the Alfred Hitchcock handbook, of appearing in his own films’ trailers. in non-anamorphic 1.85:1 and non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 THX Optimizer As the film is THX mastered, the standard optimizer is available. in Japanese DISC TWO “Making” featurettes - “The 23 Actors” (19:55) This featurette includes a press greeting on August 9th 2005 on the commencement of the film with the main actors and Mitani, and also includes film clips and behind the scenes footage intercut. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - “Koki Mitani: Making of the Long Take” (10:12) The longest one-short-one-take in the film was exactly 4 minutes 41 seconds. This featurette of a tour of the hotel set by Mitani is done in one-shot-one-take as well, and is definitely a must watch up to the very end. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - “Making of the Hotel Avanti” (12:18) This featurette features interviews with director Mitani and set designer Yohei Taneda who talk about the design of the hotel logo, the unlucky doll, shooting in various real hotels for certain scenes, design of the hotel set, and every little thing featured on screen being crafted or placed specifically for the film. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Events - The Completion Announcement (7:01) This press conference from December 12th 2005 includes short speeches from actors and Mitani. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - Interviews (with Play All) (6:59) -- Koji Yakusho (1:52) -- Takako Matsu (1:52) -- Koichi Sato (1:36) -- Kyoko Fujiwara (1:39) These short promotional interviews were made prior to the theatrical opening, with each actor talking about their character. Each are way too short to get any really interesting information. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - Preview Screening (6:05) This December 2005 screening was for a special preview audience, which included a stage greeting by the cast and Mitani before the start of the film. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - New Year’s Countdown (2:46) On December 31st 2005 just before midnight, Mitani along with Keiko Horiuchi who played a small part in the film countdown to midnight for a Fuji TV event. Actress and singer Horiuchi worked with Mitani in the past on stage, but “Suite Dreams” was her first film role. She also sings in this featurette, and she has an absolutely amazing singing voice. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - Coming of Age Day (7:12) The second Monday in January in Japan is Coming of Age Day. For the holiday, there were special stage greetings held - one with Mitani and actress YOU, a second one with Mitani, and actors Yakusho and Matsu. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - Premiere (9:30) The theatrical premiere was held on January 14th, 2006 and the cast and crew took stage to thank the audience for coming. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - January (6:46) Celebrating one million box office ticket sales, this stage greeting was on January 26th, 2006 featuring Mitani along with actors Keiko Toda and Jay Kabira. Introduced is the banner used in the film which was actually penned by actor Joe Odagiri in character in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 - March (4:11) This stage greeting on March 5th, 2006 celebrates the long run in cinemas, and even Mitani says during the greeting that he has lost count how many stage greetings he has done so far. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Deleted Scenes (with Play All) (with optional director’s commentary) (23:42) - Scene 05 (0:39) - Scene 44-45 (0:38) - Scene 57 (0:22) - Scene 67 (0:48) - Scene 68 (0:25) - Scene 95 (0:35) - Scene 98 (1:25) - Scene 116 (0:11) - Scene 120 (1:37) - Scene 126 (6:27) - Scene 152 (1:28) - Scene 153 (0:13) - Scene 161 (0:21) - Scene 164 (1:31) - Scene 180-A (2:37) - Scene 180-C (2:49) - Scene 182 (0:49) - Scene 184 (0:40) A fair collection of deleted scenes are presented in raw form, with clapper boards and post scene footage able to be seen. Timecode markers are visible, seen in the black bars. Mitani provides optional commentary for all scenes. in non-anamorphic 1.85:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 “Toho 40th Anniversary Special Interview” featurette (19:51) The year is 2046 - and for the 40th anniversary of the film a special interview is filmed with the 82 year old director Koki Mitani, who still works on the Toho lot, though as a security guard. The aging director reminisces about certain aspects of the film from long ago, but oftentimes makes the young interviewer Takashima feel like breaking into laughter with his old-man-isms. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 “Elderly Makeup” featurette (4:18) Obviously the previous featurette was not really shot in 2046, and so Mitani went through a process of heavy makeup and prosthetics to look like a Japanese Albert Einstein. This featurette unfolds the process. in non-anamorphic 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 “Hotel Avanti” submenu - History (text screen) A faux history of the hotel. in Japanese - Locations (interactive map) The film was shot in both a large soundstage and real hotel locations. This interactive map will show where the location shoots took place and which scenes were filmed there. This is a great extra that more releases should have. in Japanese - Paper Craft (DVD-ROM) Would you like to build your own paper craft version of the Hotel Avanti? Just like the DVD-ROM extra on Mitani’s previous film “All About Our House”, follow the DVD-ROM instructions, print and build! in Japanese Cast (text pages) - Koji Yakusho - Takako Matsu - Koichi Sato - Shingo Katori - Ryoko Shinohara - Keiko Toda - Katsuhisa Namase - Kumiko Aso - YOU - Joe Odagiri - Takuzo Kadono - Susumu Terajima - Kazuyuki Asano - Yoshimasa Kondo - Jay Kabira - Keiko Horiuchi - Zen Kajihara - Masanori Ishii - Mieko Harada - Toshiaki Karasawa - Masahiko Tsugawa - Shiro Ito - Toshiyuki Nishida The cast listing includes photos, text biographies, and filmographies in Japanese Gallery submenu - Photo Gallery (stills) A series of behind the scenes photos. As for where director Mitani made his cameo appearance in the film is revealed here. (Similar to the one Hitchcock used in “Lifeboat”.) in 1.33:1 - Reviews (text screens) A series of newspaper reviews of the film reprinted. in 1.33:1, in Japanese Staff (text pages) - All Staff List - Main Staff Profiles -- Koki Mitani -- Yusuke Honma -- Hideo Yamamoto -- Akira Ono -- Tetsuo Segawa -- Yohei Taneda -- Soichi Ueno - DVD Staff List Like the cast listing, these include photos, text biographies, and filmographies. in Japanese As with many Japanese special editions, it seems like a lot, but so much is just filler. The stage greetings and promotional interviews reveal very little, and would have made much better sense to wrap them all up into one singular featurette or documentary instead. But regardless of that matter, the extras are very informative and also funny especially with the 40th anniversary interview. It's great that Mitani puts a lot of time and effort into DVD (and Blu-ray) extras, as much as he does into making the movie itself.
Packaging
For the 2-disc special edition, the 2 DVDs are packaged in a digipack case with a short message from the director (in Japanese) in a pamphlet with the Hotel Avanti logo. The digipack case is housed in a hard slipbox with has multiple open squares on the front representing hotel windows to reveal the digipak artwork within. The digipak case can be reversed for alternate art. Very stylish.
Overall
Although writer/director Koki Mitani continues to make comedy hits both critically and commercially successful in Japan, his popularity outside Japan is criminally small. Even if Mitani makes his films friendly for broad international audiences, no one seems to be paying attention in other countries. Toho's special edition DVD of "Suite Dreams" presents very good audio and video with plenty of extras though sadly and expectedly without English subtitles for the bonus features. 10 years later, the DVD still stands quite high on the quality scale.
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