Mother

Some women are not fit to be a mother (same goes for some men and not being fit to be a father of course, which can also be witnessed here). It is easy to dismiss the main character here. She makes it easy to not like her. At least at the beginning ... though I'm not sure how much the viewers feelings will change during the duration of the movie.

Her son of course has a different point of view. Always hanging by her side or at least covering for her (no pun intended). This is a tough drama - especially when you consider what the kid has to go through. But the love of ones own mother can be quite strong. At least that is what the movie suggest, there are other cases too and this could easily at any moment go a different way - again no pun intended. Slow paced and dramatic and also as real as it can get - does that sound like something you would like to watch? Be sure beforehand, as to not waste your time (just sayin)

A movie about codependency, neglect, toxic cicles and learned hopelessness. It does a very good job at portraying the ugly side of society, it's so heartbreaking that it makes you want to look away (the same way many characters do during the film). But it's quite slow paced, and because it does show the endless cicles of bad decisions and abuse in a realistic way, by the end of it it felt like I was watching the same scene on a loop.

A very troubled mother travels around Japan with her son and later her new daughter gambling, drinking, sleeping with bad men and avoiding debt collectors. All the time her son seeks stability and education his mother derails his hopes at every turn. A depressing look at co dependency and the spiral of descent which will eventually lead to an unimaginable crime.

I'll preface it now for all of you the movie itself is just miserable from start to finish. Every second of it makes you angry that such a woman can be such an irredeemable person. Now I'm not saying that this is a bad movie, in fact its misery and its ability to fire me up is what makes it such a recommended viewing. The actress who plays the mother is so good at just being the most scummy, despicable person. You feel for these kids that she totally uses as props to further her own agenda. I think the hardest part to watch is that her son takes it and keeps taking it time after time as if under some sort of spell. It's so hard to watch a child's innocence being ripped apart by the very person that gave them life and is suppose to protect them and cherish them. It just hurts to watch.

The director is sensitive enough to show a family of outcasts (if we can call that human gathering a family), a situation that, although it exists in any society, no country likes to show them in the cinema. Very good performance in general, notably the boy Shuhei. Today's Japanese cinema has succeeded the Italian's in the art of unraveling the complicated life of those forgotten by society.