Rating: 4.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2023 | 18/52 | Food on Film
Toshiko talks about the miracle of radishes.
Chinami, her daughter, helps cook beef tips and mashed potatoes.
Kyohei, her husband, won’t carry shopping bags to the store. He still wants to be seen as a doctor despite being retired.
Ryo, Toshiko’s son, comes with his new wife, Yukari, and Yukari’s son, Atsushi. Yukari is a widow, and Atsushi is her child from that marriage.
Kyohei coldly greets his son, Ryo, and leaves the room. Toshiko recalls when Junpei brought his wife and how Kyohei hid to avoid making a poor impression.
Toshiko tells Yukari a story about Ryo as a child. Ryo reminds her it wasn’t him. It was Junpei. Kyohei reflects on how smart Junpei was as a child.
— Children don't necessarily grow up the way you want them to. — They certainly don't…
Who is Junpei? We don’t learn through direct statements but through the stories, the side comments, and his absence.
We follow the family for a day they have gathered together. The story is best experienced by letting it reveal the family through their conversations.
We reflect on the contrast between children’s brutal honesty and adults’ indirectness.
Kyohei reminds me of my grandfather, who loves my aunt more than my dad. My dad took over my grandfather’s business during a period when my grandfather couldn’t work. He gave up his piloting career path. That won him some points.
Toshiko reminds me of my grandmother, who keeps photo albums and says cruel things as though she is commenting on the weather. After a recent breakup, she said, “You probably won’t meet anyone, but that’s okay.”
In this way, families remain enigmas. We don’t hear about our family history. We must listen for details and fill in the gaps. There are folks I see at Thanksgiving without knowing our relationship.
The movie has the gentle pace and quiet devastation of Ozu.
The camera sits for long takes as the conversation unfolds, making cuts at points of tension or development, but never dramatically.
While some performances are exaggerated, overall, they are superb.
Shohei Tanaka, the actor who plays Atsushi, does some incredible acting, especially in the scenes where he has nothing to say.
This is a brilliantly directed and realized movie.