Komada: A Whisky Family

Who would have said that an animated film about the production of whisky could be touching? This film’s main protagonist is a young journalist who is assigned to write an article about a Japanese female distiller, but he ends up writing a series of articles, in the course of which he expands his own knowledge of whisky and gradually become entangled in the secrets of the family business, which has experienced a number of crises. The characters’ effort to achieve the ideal mix of flavours, the production of which would build on a tradition that had been interrupted years before, is strongly connected with the dynamics of family relationships, responsibility for the company’s good name, a sense of togetherness with the determined employees and personal honour. In addition to that, the neophyte journalist learns to like his own work while finding out that, like him, many people have experienced such a situation and ended up being happy in a job different from the one they had dreamed of. On top of that, the film offers enjoyable animation, likable and well-written characters, and a number of emotionally tender moments. (14.10.2023)