Naoko Ogigami’s Glasses follows the story of Taeko, a young woman who finds true relaxation through the small things in life with the unique characters she meets in a southern seaside town. The comedic elements of the movie, such as Mercy Gymnastics and Grandma Sakura’s red bean shaved ice, make you laugh, but they also remind you of the small moments of happiness and serenity in everyday life.

Glasses is the third movie by Naoko Ogigami, a leading director of healing films. Just like her debut film, Yoshino Barber Shop, and her hit Kamome Shokudo, we’re going to talk about her third movie, Glasses, which is just as mysterious. First of all, it’s best to watch the movie to read about it, because it’s literally so unidentifiable that it’s hard to write about the plot.

The plot of the movie Glasses

The plot of the movie Glasses goes something like this: “One day, Taeko travels to a small town on the southern coast of Japan, hoping to find a quiet place where cell phones don”t work. There, she meets Yuji, a kind-hearted innkeeper, Sakura, a mysterious shaved ice lady who returns every year, and Haruna, a biology teacher who stops by the inn on a whim, and is puzzled by their unusual behavior. They gather on the beach in the morning to do bizarre gymnastics and spend their days doing nothing special, and Taeko is fed up with them and decides to change the minshuku…..’ If you look at the plot, it’s a really boring and uninteresting movie.
But when you watch the movie, you realize how good and funny it is, especially the bizarre gymnastics in the story, which is called Mercy Gymnastics, and the movements are both ridiculous and funny. So reading the plot is actually a minus for the movie. But even so, if you haven’t seen the movie, you can still see the wide open ocean and the dozens of people doing strange gymnastics on top of it, the wet lady sitting still on the road, and the world’s most delicious shaved ice, which is made by piling up tons of impromptu grated ice and putting only a scoop of red beans and a scoop of syrup on top, If you imagine people singing songs, playing musical instruments, or offering pig-shaped origami to a little boy, you can get a good idea of the charming joy of Glasses.
But the question is, what is Glasses? If you look it up online, you’ll find that it’s a drama and a comedy. Of the five films in Naoko Ogigami’s filmography, Kamome Shokudo and Toilet, Yoshino Barber Shop, Glasses, and Rent a Cat are all categorized as either drama or comedy. It’s a shame that “Toilet” is categorized as a comedy because there were many parts that made me laugh. I don’t know where the criteria comes from, but in my opinion, Toilet is definitely a comedy. On the contrary, I’ve only seen the trailer for Rent a Cat, but I thought it would be lacking in the comedy genre, but it was labeled as a comedy, so I was confused.
Naoko Ogigami is such an unusual person. I recently read her first novel, “Hidari Carpentry,” and it was just as outrageous as the movie and just as funny. It’s just as outrageous and funny as the movie. This novel must be a comedy novel (which is the first time I’ve ever read or seen a comedy genre in a novel. Is there a comedy genre in a novel? Except for comics), and she must be a comedic person because she wrote a comedy novel. So, I wonder if the comedic parts of her movies and novels are inevitably incorporated into her work without her realizing it. But in the end, I don’t think it’s necessary to include the director to analyze the comedy genre, so I will stop talking about the director’s identity and think about the genre of ‘healing comedy’ that she created.

Comedic elements of “Glasses,” which is called a “healing comedy

One, Mercy Gymnastics
Led by Sakura, a mysterious woman, the residents of a neighborhood gather every morning to practice mercy gymnastics. Mercy is an exclamation in Japanese. You can say merci, arigatou, which means really, thank you, or merci grace, mercy, thank you in French. However, it’s unlikely to be in English or French, so it’s probably just an exclamation in Japanese. Merci gymnastics, which has no special meaning, is gymnastics with no special meaning. It’s just something to start the morning off right. Just like Korea has national gymnastics, Glasses has mercy gymnastics.
But it’s not that simple, because the movements are so ridiculous. It’s like when you’re trying to make a friend laugh, and they’re doing weird things to make you laugh. Their facial expressions are expressionless, but their movements are a little over the top. This kind of behavior evokes curiosity in the viewer, as well as the typical emotions of the movie, such as whimsy, amusement, and absurdity.
Of course, it may seem that this behavior is meant to provoke laughter, but when you watch the movie, the whole scene, the way the residents gather and do gymnastics like that every morning, the expressions on their faces when they do it, especially Sakura’s expressionless face, and the calm sea that goes with the gymnastics… it is the situation that provokes laughter, not the gymnastics. Therefore, I think the title of forced laughter is rather excessive.

Two, Grandma Sakura’s shaved ice
In the summer, Grandma Sakura comes to the island and opens a shaved ice shop. When customers come in, she makes shaved ice without ordering anything in particular, just grinding ice on the spot and adding a scoop of red beans and a scoop of syrup. People love it. You might wonder how this shaved ice with only red beans and syrup can be delicious, but everyone who sees it thinks it’s delicious. Naoko’s movies seem to have a magical effect on food, as it doesn’t even look delicious. There’s a lot of food in Kamome Shokudo, and you’ll definitely want to try the onigiri after watching the movie.
The reason why Grandma Sakura’s shaved ice is so delicious is because of the system where you can pay for anything instead of having to pay. The ice maker gives ice in exchange for shaved red bean shaved ice, the neighborhood lady gives vegetables, the little kid makes origami pigs, and the innkeeper and biology teacher play musical instruments in exchange for shaved ice. The story seems absurd, and the absurdity of the story makes it a pleasant comedy that can entertain the audience.
Also, after the red bean shaved ice is served, the process of making red beans is shown, and that part is really static. Sakura’s grandmother is making red beans at the minshuku, but when she boils the beans, she puts them on a low heat and stares blankly into the pot. No, you can’t say she’s blank. It’s funny because he’s looking at the red beans as if he’s asking the red beans, ‘How cooked are you? Do you want me to stir it once?’ It’s funny because the female protagonist is watching the process, and it’s funny because she boils the red beans together as if she understands it.

Three, the end of the absurdity ‘I’m sorry for being so unreasonable.’
The main character, Taeko, came to this place shortly after her husband died. She came with fond memories of her husband, but the people at the minshuku didn’t know her past. However, after staying at the minshuku for a few days, Taeko gradually connected with the residents and accepted their way of life. One night, reminiscing about her husband, she told them her story. She was talking about how hard it was when her husband died, when suddenly Grandma Sakura said, “That’s a really sad story, but we don’t like sad stories.”
It may sound strange, but Taeko felt comforted by that comment. Sakura’s desire to feel the peace of the present rather than bring up sad stories or difficult memories made her reflect on her past. As a result, Taeko opened her heart and deepened her relationship with the people there.

Four, Taeko’s experience at the minshuku
It’s Taeko’s first experience at a minshuku, and she has trouble following the rules. Especially Mercy Gymnastics, which starts in the morning on the first day, is a big shock to her. But over the next few days, she gets used to it and finds herself looking forward to the morning routine. During this process, Taeko realizes that she is truly taking a break from her daily routine.

Conclusion

As you can see, “Glasses” has a simple plot, but it’s filled with scenes that leave a lasting impression. Director Naoko Ogigami’s unique direction and the characters’ unique behaviors will make you laugh, but also give you something to think about. “Glasses” is not just a comedy movie, but a healing comedy movie about finding small moments of happiness and serenity in everyday life, and is loved by many people.