Bread of Happiness (2012 Film)
Bread of Happiness (Japanese: しあわせのパン, Hepburn: Shiawase no Pan) is a 2012 Japanese film directed and written by Yukiko Mishima. The story follows a married couple, Rie and Sang Mizushima, who relocate from Tokyo to the scenic Lake Toya region in Hokkaido. There, they establish a bakery and restaurant named Mani, where Sang focuses on baking bread while Rie prepares dishes designed to complement his creations. The film is structured around the changing seasons, depicting the couple's interactions with various visitors who find comfort and happiness at their establishment.
Production and Background
Bread of Happiness serves as the first installment in a trilogy of films directed by Yukiko Mishima that are set in Hokkaido. The series is intended to highlight the region's natural environment and lifestyle. The second film in this series, A Drop of the Grapevine (Budou no Namida), was released in 2014.
Cast
The film features an ensemble cast including:
- Tomoyo Harada as Rie Mizushima
- Yo Oizumi as Sang Mizushima
- Yuta Hiraoka as Tokio Yamashita
- Kanna Moriya as Kaori Saito
- Yuki Yagi as Suehisa
- Ken Mitsuishi as Suehisa's father
- Misako Watanabe as Aya Sakamoto
- Katsuo Nakamura as Shio Sakamoto
- Kimiko Yo as Yoshi
