Cleanup in aisle five, and more

Sometimes a film comes along that is both delightful and innovative, seeming to break the mold of movie plots. Such is the case with the 1996 Japanese film Supermarket Woman directed by Juzo Itami. I caught it bored one night and with all else failing tuned to Criterion Channel’s relatively new 24/7 on which their curators screen films round the clock, similar to Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Only there’s more mystery to these as Criterion doesn’t give a title; you have to look it up on a separate website and then do your own research. What was wonderful about Supermarket Woman is it’s a film about a subject few directors would have ever thought about – daily life in a supermarket. You mean “clean up in aisle five?” Yes and more, much more. Itami has taken this most plebian of subjects and added an intriguing plot, fantastic characters, quick pace and hypnotic score and created a movie that not only is absolutely fun to watch but has a lot to say about personal relationships, working for “the man”, standing up for yourself, and personal and business integrity. The star is none other than Nobuko Miyamoto (now deceased Itami’s wife), a whirling dervish of an actress who plays a similar role here. The plot is simple. Hanoko (Miyamoto) runs into an old school friend who now runs a supermarket. She’s a housewife who’s a canny consumer. He’s manager of a store that’s failing. She offers some basic tips – everything from how products are shelved to advertised sales. He hires her on the spot and, like Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane as newspaper publisher, she turns the grocery store upside down in finding efficiencies and ways to grow sales and fend off acquisition to an inferior rival chain. But no authoritarian manager she. Rather her talent lies in good naturedly improving logical floor practices and challenging the old guard's “how it’s always been done” thinking, not least sticking up for employees bullied by other staff (the butchers are the main culprits). The pixie-like Hanako literally creates a whirlwind through the store’s aisles, resulting in a transformation that delights skeptical bosses and employees alike, for whom she’s a hero. This is altogether an exhilarating and comedic drama. Whoever thought a movie about a supermarket could be so much fun?