Still Walking (2008)

Still Walking is a family drama about grown children visiting their elderly parents, which unfolds over one summer day. The aging parents have lived in the family home for decades. Their ... See full summary »

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writers:

Hirokazu Koreeda (original story), Hirokazu Koreeda (screenplay)

Stars:

Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You

11 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hiroshi Abe	...	Ryota Yokoyama
Yui Natsukawa	...	Yukari Yokoyama
You	...	Chinami Kataoka
Kazuya Takahashi	...	Nobuo Kataoka
Shohei Tanaka	...	Atsushi Yokoyama
Kirin Kiki	...	Toshiko Yokoyama
Yoshio Harada	...	Kyohei Yokoyama
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryôga Hayashi	...	Mutsu Kataoka
Haruko Katô
Hotaru Nomoto	...	Satsuki Kataoka
Susumu Terajima	...	Sushi deliverer

Storyline

Still Walking is a family drama about grown children visiting their elderly parents, which unfolds over one summer day. The aging parents have lived in the family home for decades. Their son and daughter return for a rare family reunion, bringing their own families with them. They have gathered to commemorate the tragic death of the eldest son, who drowned in an accident fifteen years ago. Although the roomy house is as comforting and unchanging as the mother's homemade feast, everyone in the family has subtly changed.

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Plot Keywords:

children | father daughter relationship | mother son relationship | husband wife relationship | father son relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Offcial Site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 April 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Still Walking

Filming Locations:

Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$20,298 (USA) (28 August 2009)

Gross:

$163,512 (USA) (25 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Cinequanon, Eisei Gekijo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Chores
Written by Keegan DeWitt
Performed by Keegan Dewitt

User Reviews

Complex and beautiful as life itself

Still Walking is an intimate movie about a family reunion. Its observations about family dynamics are the most true to life I have ever seen. The movie paints the entire gamut of emotional family experience with delicate yet powerful brush strokes but it's not a sentimental film, nor an opportunity for actors to grandstand. It's Japanese, so all the strong undercurrents of emotion are held in check by equally powerful restraint (both cultural and directorial). A brother and a sister attempting families of their own go to visit their parents in Yokohama. The parents have lost a son and the family's devastation hangs heavy in the air. You can actually feel it bearing down on your shoulders from the first frame. Anybody who has ever spent the night at the house of relatives will feel the weight of family history that this film captures so truthfully.

The parents are engulfed by their quiet, ongoing grief and the surviving children resent all the attention given to the one who is not there anymore. The movie is surprisingly mordant, touching, cruel, sad, funny: human. The mother is this wonderful woman who cooks up a storm (I so wanted to be invited to that house). She is from an older generation, which means she has been forever in the shadow of her husband the doctor, cooking and cleaning and feeding the children, but she is not a pushover, nor a saint. She is mischievous, catty and petty, prejudiced, funny, generous and cruel at the same time. She is a marvel, and the actress who plays her is astonishing.

This movie has many emotional surprises that make the audience gasp, but they are presented with a sure, light touch, never falling into easy sentiment, never shying away from human complexity. It's a film about family, and love and duty and regret and it is stunningly beautiful.