Ah haru

Love this movie. So unexpected. Just watch it because it is as good as anything Somai had made. The premise of this old trickster father impeding on the yuppie son's life is the opposite as The Friends, about a society that comes to an old hermit.

Both films are offering cartoonish caricatures of old funny men, but gradually peel back the layer of the deep, rich humanity living within them.

My favorite is the quiet wife's reactions throughout it (played by Yuki Saito who starred in Somai's Lost Chapter, very cool to see them collab again)

The elder males are missing on both sides. It is a family of women. The husband is in a constant depression and self pity from the economic collapse. Society does not offer his masculinity to be actualized. Then, perhaps he is too attached from his victimhood to embrace the old man.

The wife, the film keeps making the point, she comes from money and does not really care about him being breadwinner. She is just desperate for a masculine, grandfatherly figure for the son, for the household.

One review mentioned Koreeda, and I thought of him too with the domestic family drama. But I feel Koreeda misses in the theater of melodrama, the storytelling. I am seldomly surprised in his work the way I am by these, the way they are always throwing curveballs at the premise.

This film was interesting, but mainly because it shows an aspect of modern Japanese life which westerners don't often get to see. If I was not interested in listening to the Japanese language and learning a little more about contemporary Japanese lifestyle, I probably would not have watched this film to the end. It was a bit of a soapie.

On the other hand, there were several moments where I felt more emotionly involved with the family which made the film more worthwhile.

On the whole, the movie was worth watching and I give it a 6/10.

A family drama in which a successful stockbroker, married with a young son, is a accosted one night when arriving home by a course, dishevelled man claiming to be his hitherto- thought-dead father, who proceeds to invite himself to stay. The unwelcome guest is not easily waved away and gradually becomes part of the lives of the family. Meanwhile the firm the protagonist works for is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, just as the picture of his origins his mother gave him is shaken up and thrown Into question.

The set up could be an eighties Hollywood comedy but this is something very different and far more subtle and complex. Somai resists exploiting emotional moments excessively, winning the respect and engagement of the audience rather than milking their emotions for simple catharsis, ultimately achieving a powerful and lastingly provocative film experience. Low-key writing; unobtrusive (and clearly inexpensive) camera work with little camera movement; seemingly little use of additional lighting; long takes; sparing use of close ups - all contribute to the disarmingly intimate experience of the family. This film reminded me of the work of Ozu Yasujiro. All the characters are fresh and unpredictable and there are many moments of humour and pathos, with some chickens in the yard playing an important role. Performances are top notch all the way, including the minor parts which feel like real lives glimpsed rather than decoration.

Highly recommended, and a worthy addition to any fan of Japanese cinema's viewing experience.