OUR FAMILY Starring: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Sosuke Ikematsu, Mieko Harada, Kyozo Nagatsuka Director: Yuya Ishii Category: I (Japanese) At the beginning of the first film wunderkind director Yuya Ishii has released after turning 30, the four people at the heart of Our Family look to be doing better than most in recession-era Japan. Mother Reiko (Mieko Harada) smiles a lot and dreams of holidaying in Hawaii. She lives in a big detached house in the suburbs with her CEO spouse Katsuaki Wakana (Kyozo Nagatsuka). Her responsible "salaryman" elder son Kosuke (Satoshi Tsumabuki), is a proud father-to-be, and her younger son Shunpei (Sosuke Ikematsu), is a carefree college student who has a bar job. With behavioural quirks that can bemuse and — to quote her daughter-in-law Miyuki (Mei Kurokawa) — "be puzzling at times", the 60-something Reiko's eccentric character would not be out of place in Ishii's previous films. But Our Family represents a venture into more serious territory for the indie filmmaker, who's known for satirical comedy-dramas such as Sawako Decides (2010) and Mitsuko Delivers (2011). Reiko's ways soon start to cause concern; and she is diagnosed with a brain tumour and given just one week to live. This adaptation of Kazumasa Hayami's bestselling novel alludes to the ills of Japanese society in general as well as the family in question. Ishii points out that cures can't be effected until problems are admitted, and assistance from others is sought, and that a fixation on maintaining a façade can cause permanent cracks to form. But rather than paint a picture bereft of hope, it shows how a family in crisis can become closer, and strength can be found in those considered as weak links. These messages could seem hackneyed, but in Ishii's capable hands, they make for compelling cinema. Our Family opens on December 11
