Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Still Walking

Original title: Aruitemo aruitemo
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
20K
YOUR RATING
Still Walking (2008)
Drama

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

  • Director
    • Hirokazu Koreeda
  • Writer
    • Hirokazu Koreeda
  • Stars
    • Hiroshi Abe
    • Yui Natsukawa
    • You
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    20K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hirokazu Koreeda
    • Writer
      • Hirokazu Koreeda
    • Stars
      • Hiroshi Abe
      • Yui Natsukawa
      • You
    • 53User reviews
    • 136Critic reviews
    • 89Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 11 wins & 9 nominations total

    Photos59

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 53
    View Poster

    Top cast11

    Edit
    Hiroshi Abe
    Hiroshi Abe
    • Ryôta Yokoyama
    Yui Natsukawa
    Yui Natsukawa
    • Yukari Yokoyama
    You
    You
    • Chinami Kataoka
    Kazuya Takahashi
    • Nobuo Kataoka
    Shohei Tanaka
    Shohei Tanaka
    • Atsushi Yokoyama
    Hotaru Nomoto
    • Satsuki Kataoka
    Ryôga Hayashi
    • Mutsu Kataoka
    Susumu Terajima
    Susumu Terajima
    • Sushi Deliverer
    Haruko Katô
    Haruko Katô
    • Fusa Nishizawa
    Kirin Kiki
    Kirin Kiki
    • Toshiko Yokoyama
    Yoshio Harada
    Yoshio Harada
    • Kyôhei Yokoyama
    • Director
      • Hirokazu Koreeda
    • Writer
      • Hirokazu Koreeda
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews53

    7.919.8K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    andrenalin_04

    Plot

    Forty-something art restorer Yokoyama Ryota (Abe Hiroshi) reluctantly returns to his parents' home with his new wife Yukari (Natsukawa Yui) for a rare reunion. The family is holding a memorial for the eldest son who passed away 15 years ago, and Ryota has not been looking forward to the occasion. To his father (Harada Yoshio), Ryota can never compare to his late brother, and silent resentment has accumulated between father and son over the years. Likewise, Ryota's mother (Kiki Kirin) carries years of bottled frustrations and disappointments that slip out in casual, cutting remarks. Only sister Chinami (You) seems to somehow keep herself above the family drama. As the day wears on, the family runs through the simple gestures and complex emotions that keep them together and push them apart.
    9grandenchilada

    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.
    9crossbow0106

    Pretty Wonderful Ozu Like Film

    This film by writer/director Koreeda is a triumph of simplicity. Telling the story of a family who meet annually to mark the death of oldest son Junpei at the parent's house, you're struck by how well this flows. The acting is uniformly very good and the story never lags. The best thing I found about this film is how it could have been done without a script, if the actors were given this scenario. There is bitterness, pettiness and even selfishness here, all earmarks of the subject matter. I found the stylistic similarities to Ozu films to be very touching and not a bit off putting. When I watched this film in a theater in New York, people applauded at the end. This is about as real life as it gets. Its a universal theme, not a Japanese one. My hat is off to the writer/director, its a fine film.
    8ruby_fff

    Rarefied endearing family story, disharmony ambiguously masked by revelry of sumptuous food and familial banters

    "Still Walking" aka "Aruitemo Aruitemo" Yet another superb delivery from Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda who gave us "Nobody Knows" in 2004. It's like we're eavesdropping on a private family reunion event. Central to the story is from the viewpoint of the second son, Ryota at age 40, going home to his parents' house via public transport with his new wife, a widow, and her 10 year old son from previous marriage. Yes, he doesn't own a car like his sister and brother in law. He's actually wary about hiding the fact that he doesn't have a substantial job and asks his wife not to breathe a word at the family occasion. His parents will be disappointed, especially his father who has counted on the second son to take on the family medical clinic business and be a doctor rather than any other trade - since the eldest died 15 years ago. Ryota has 'imprisoned' himself by these expectations which he is unable to, and frankly does not want to, fulfill. Underneath the pleasant bantering with his mother, we can tell he is struggling to find himself, make peace with himself and go on with his life.

    Writer-director-editor Koreeda's passion provided us a close look (ever so casually, unhurried at its own pace so we get to be familiarized with each member of the family) on how a Japanese family might function on such a reunion gathering. We are put at ease watching mother and daughter preparing food in the kitchen, the whole family huddled around the meal table, the spontaneous exchanges. By and by, subtle clues are displayed and we may see the other side to each person's personality and hidden desires. Then there are pause moments to relish some family coziness or mother-son cordial exchanges. The storyline is far from 'flat' at its leisurely pace: "familiarity breeds contempt" or "absence makes the heart grows fonder" - either could be true. As the evening goes on, more aspects surface - be it mother, father, son, daughter in law, or grandson - we share their sentiments, satisfied or empathized.

    "Still Walking" is a rich film. We are fortunate to experience it with so many levels rendered to us. I appreciate the reverence paid to the traditional family ritual of honoring the dead. Yes, a chance for a family outing, seeing Ryota and his 'new' family - wife and stepson - together is encouraging. The 'yellow butterflies' folklore is heartening.

    The film also brings to mind quotes from Louise L. Hay's book, "Heart Thoughts - A Treasury of Inner Wisdom" on forgiveness (page 90): "We do not have to know how to forgive. All we have to do is be willing to forgive. The Universe will take care of the how." And on happiness (page 94): "Happiness is feeling good about yourself."

    The theme music by Gonchichi is just right for the mood and state of inner peace - its guitar playing chords and melodic strains is quietly serene. What a soothing melody, giving the film a resigned, calming, happy with himself again leisurely tempo - simply apt to the story of "Still Walking." Visit the official site 'www.aruitemo.com' and you can listen to the music and check out 'Director's Statement' with Koreeda talking about his film.
    9GyatsoLa

    Still Life

    Its not often I return to see a film immediately to see it again, but this is a film which demands it. This is a masterly film by Koreeda following an ordinary middle class Japanese family has they have an annual reunion to commemorate the older brother who died rescuing a boy from drowning. In its slow, gentle, poetic way, this film brings us into the heart of the family so well you feel it is your own - indeed, the characters are so real, so richly portrayed, that you almost come to believe you know them as well as your own family.

    A simple plot précis doesn't do justice to what this film is about. It shines a light into those repressed areas of resentment, sentimentality, nostalgia, guilt and desire that are so often hidden behind a facade of politeness. Koreeda is too subtle a director to have any big blow ups or surprises - he reveals his characters in a gentle manner as detail is laid upon detail. When the ending comes it is not a surprise, but it is still profoundly moving and thought provoking. This is a film that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.

    A lot has been made about the films debt to Ozu. I think this is very overstated - although there are one or two stylistic nods to Ozu at the beginning, Koreeda is a very different type of film maker. Unlike Ozu he uses tiny surreal moments of beauty to contrast with the realism of the rest of the film. His use of editing and camera work is far less formal and rigorous - instead he allows the camera to follow the characters, revealing the layers of the home. And most importantly, while Ozu emphasised the death of the traditional Japanese family and considered it with sad resignation, Koreeda sees families as all alike, stuck in a series of inescapable cycles. In many respects this film reminded me more of some of Naruse's classic films than Ozu.

    The cast is uniformly excellent, with Kiki Kirin utterly wonderful as the grandmother. The only very small quibble I have with the casting is that Koreeda succumbed somewhat to casting some characters who are a little too elegant and good looking for the 'normal' people they portray. Hiroshi Abe and Yui Natsukata are maybe a little too good looking to be convincing as the less than 100% welcome family members. But that is a very minor criticism of what is a terrific ensemble piece.

    I think this film is one of the finest of the year and may well come to be seen as a classic. It can certainly sit comfortably with any of the great films of Japans golden era.

    More like this

    Nobody Knows
    8.0
    Nobody Knows
    After the Storm
    7.4
    After the Storm
    Like Father, Like Son
    7.8
    Like Father, Like Son
    After Life
    7.6
    After Life
    Maborosi
    7.5
    Maborosi
    I Wish
    7.3
    I Wish
    Shoplifters
    7.9
    Shoplifters
    Monster
    7.8
    Monster
    Air Doll
    6.8
    Air Doll
    Hana
    6.6
    Hana
    The Third Murder
    6.7
    The Third Murder
    Distance
    6.8
    Distance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In a 2009 interview, Koreeda stated that Still Walking was based on his own family.
    • Goofs
      At the end, when the grandparents cross the road after Ryota and his family depart by the bus, their positions change between shots at the zebra crossing.
    • Quotes

      Atsushi Yokoyama: There's nothing to watch on TV these days. They laugh so loud but nothing's funny.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Il était une fois...: Une affaire de famille (2021)
    • Soundtracks
      Blue Light Yokohama
      Written by Jun Hashimoto Kyôhei Tsutsumi

      Performed by Ayumi Ishida

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ18

    • How long is Still Walking?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 28, 2008 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official site
      • Offcial Site
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Even If You Walk and Walk
    • Filming locations
      • Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Bandai Visual Company
      • Cinequanon
      • Eisei Gekijo
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $167,047
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $20,298
      • Aug 30, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,511,120
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Still Walking (2008)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Still Walking (2008) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.