ReviewIt’s a Flickering Life movie review: Yoji Yamada’s nostalgic family drama, shot in the shadow of Covid-19 pandemic, marks Shochiku film studio’s centenary

Yoji Yamada’s 92nd film includes everything one expects from his work – a lighthearted portrait of relationships and a look back at the golden age of cinema

It’s a Flickering Life finds Yamada in competent form, even if the results are somewhat repetitive, and long-time fans of his work will find plenty here to enjoy

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A still from It’s a Flickering Life (category I, Japanese), directed by Yoji Yamada. Starring Kenji Sawada and Masaki Suda.

Published: 4:15pm, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 5:29pm, 28 Sep 2021

3/5 stars

A name as synonymous with Japanese cinema as Yasujiro Ozu or Akira Kurosawa, director Yoji Yamada turned 90 this month, an occasion marked by the release of his 92nd feature film, in this the centenary year of Shochiku film studios.

It’s a Flickering Life includes everything one has come to expect from a Yamada film; it’s a lighthearted portrait of tempestuous family relationships intertwined with a profoundly nostalgic look back at the golden age of cinema. Long-time fans of the director’s oeuvre will find plenty here to enjoy.

As Japan plays host to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, office worker Ayumi (Shinobu Terajima) is outraged to discover that her father, Goh (Kenji Sawada), has accumulated a massive gambling debt that loan sharks are now holding her responsible for. Equally frustrated that her mother, Yoshiko (Nobuko Miyamoto) is doing nothing to quash her father’s bad habits, Ayumi seizes control of his finances until his debt has been repaid.

In defiance, Goh hobbles off to the local cinema, run by his best friend Terashin (Nenji Kobayashi), who screens for him a classic ’50s melodrama on which they both worked as young men.

Transported back to his youth, Goh (now played by Masaki Suda) fondly recalls his days working for a celebrated studio director (played by Lily Franky, doing a fine impersonation of an Ozu-like auteur) and the crush he had on the film’s radiant leading lady Sonoko (Keiko Kitagawa).