Koki Mitani is Japan's most successful comedy writer and director, with a long string of hit plays, TV dramas and films to his credit, most recently "The Uchoten Hoteru (Suite Dreams)" and "The Magic Hour."
His films bear a family resemblance to the hits of the late Juzo Itami: Both directors' works are heavily influenced by Western models (Billy Wilder and Frank Capra are among Mitani's heros) and are intended first and foremost as popular entertainment.
But whereas Itami was an on-screen essayist with strong opinions and a biting sense of humor (which once got him knifed by gangsters who didn't care for his depictions of their kind), Mitani presents himself as a consummate show-biz pro whose only aim is to make his audience feel good and, every once in a while, a little teary.