Movies and alcohol are both international languages, with no boundaries of nationality and races. In the magic of movies, we can explore and learn various cultures from all around the world in just an hour or two. The Hollywood movie <Sideways>, which depicted a wine guru’s affection on pinot noir, has once took the global wine world by storm, making pinot noir the protagonist in US. Another movie <Red Obsession>, which illustrated the rise of Chinese wine business, has also aroused discussions among wine lovers and received a great deal of acclaims.
Similarly, there were several movies talking about sake in recent years, one of them showing now is trying to bring audience into the world of sake through directors point of view.
<Kampai! For the Love of Sake> is depicting the story of three sake connoisseurs – how they strived to bring sake to a global stage and how an incidence of natural disaster awaked their consciousness and become the giants finally.
<The Birth of Sake> is a kind of anatomy revolving around Tedori River of Ishikawa, exploring the the sake making process, hard work of Kurabito and, their psychological variation and the contradictions confronted by their generations. <The birth of Sake> is a good and serious lesson for all sake lovers.
The last one is <The Genealogy Of Sake> which is not shown in Hong Kong unfortunately. This is a film paying tributes to the four kings of Eto Toji, portraying how they inherit the techniques from the ancestors. I hope there is a chance to be shown in Hong Kong.
電影和酒都是一種國際語言, 不分國界, 不分膚色, 憑著電影魔力, 我們可以在個多小時內深入理解不同文化. 電影《酒佬日記》為葡萄酒界帶來旋風, 主角熱愛的PINOT NOIR, 也旋即成為美國酒迷的新寵兒. 近年的記錄片《紅酒瘋》, 探討中國掘起和葡萄酒的價值, 題材尖銳, 也獲得一陣好評.
同樣地, 近年三套關於日本酒的記錄片相繼登場, 近日其中一套也在香港上映, 透過電影導演的獨特觀點和視覺語言,帶各位進入不同的日本酒世界.
《乾杯!日本清酒最高》 3位清酒人為主角, 透視日本酒在面對世界時的文化衝擊, 三人如何一一克服, 為日本酒步入世界舞台努力, 一次地震天災如何喚醒他們對日本酒的自覺, 深入描寫三人的過去, 透過經歷成為獨當一面的巨人.
《清酒的誕生》 以石川縣的手取川為主角, 探討藏人們的工作日常; 片中也看到多個清酒釀造工序, 苛刻的工作量甚至令藏人賠上寶貴的性命, 難得深入描寫藏人們的心理狀態, 世代交替的矛盾, 面對種種難題, 酒藏的前路何去何從? 清酒的誕生為清酒愛好者上了沉重的一課.
最後一部是《一献之系譜》可惜的是, 這部電影沒有在香港上映,是向能登杜氏四天王致敬之作, 觀看四天王承傳杜氏技藝編織成系譜, 不知日後有沒有機會在香港觀賞呢?
# 酒佬日記 Sideways # 紅酒瘋 Red Obsession
# 乾杯!日本清酒最高 Kampai! For the Love of Sake
# 清酒的誕生 The Birth of Sake # 一献之系譜 The Genealogy Of Sake
