Supermarket Woman

Hanako is a widow. She goes shopping at her local supermarket and sees how badly it is run: stale fish, wrong labels, empty shelves. The owner turns out to be a childhood friend, and Hanako sets about fixing it. Against her are the staff, the suppliers, and the large chain across the road. Jūzō Itami writes and directs. His wife Nobuko Miyamoto plays Hanako. Itami's method is the same as always: pick an industry and go inside it. He had already done this with funerals, tax inspection and ramen shops. Here it is retail, and the film works as a study of a business as much as a comedy. How the meat is packed, where the price sticker goes: every detail comes from real observation. Its protagonist is unusual too. Hanako is not an expert but a customer. Her knowledge comes from consuming, and she sees what the professionals cannot. Itami died the year after this. Supermarket Woman is among his last works. Who it is for: viewers who like Japanese social comedy and Itami's industry studies. Who it is not for: do not look for dramatic tension. The film is almost entirely the solving of operational problems, and the ending is visible from the start.