Rakugo Comedy ‘Talk, Talk, Talk’ at WLA UMC

“Talk, Talk, Talk” (2007, 109 minutes), directed by Hideyuki Hirayama, will be shown on Friday, April 26, at , at 7:30 p.m. at West L.A. United Methodist Church, 1913 Purdue Ave., West L.A.

This comedy-drama revolves around Mitsuba, a teenage boy who studies the traditional art of rakugo, a form of comical storytelling sometimes referred to as sit-down comedy. Even though Mitsuba is mediocre at best, he ends up teaching three students.

Known in Japan as “Shaberedomo Shaberedomo” and based on a novel by Takako Sato, the film stars Taichi Kokubun, Karina, Yuuki Morinaga, Yutaka Matsushige, Shiro Ito and Kintaro Hara.

Hirayama is known for such films as 1992’s “Games Teachers Play” (Za Chugaku Kyoshi) and 2002’s “The Laughing Frog” (Warau Kaeru).

Free admission and parking. The church shows Japanese films on the last Friday of the month. For more information on this and other church programs, call (310) 479-1379 or visit www.wlaumc.com.