Yôichi Higashi’s 2010 film Wandering Home, is an important reminder to everyone that while things may not be perfect in this life, there is always the hope and the possibility that no matter how bad things get one will not suffer alone.  Wandering Home follows the painful path of a family torn apart and ultimately brought back together by the alcohol-dependent father Tsukahara, played by Tadanobu Asano.  Once an award-winning photojournalist on the battlefield during war, alcohol becomes the father’s only escape.

Divorced from a beautiful and talented wife, played by Hiromi Nagasaku, Tsukahara lives with his mother and seemingly exists merely to drink his life away.  That is until he begins knocking on death’s door.  It’s a film about struggle and perseverance, and ultimately a film about a never ending love. Nagasaku is exceptionally exquisite in her role of the confused and torn wife and mother. The pain in her eyes floods the screen, and the love in her heart fills the soul.  Although a supporting role, Nagasaku steals the film in every scene in which she appears.

Although a bit slow at times the story remains true to actual life.  Life is not always fast-paced….it is not always interesting, and it does not always turn out how we want.  This is life.  It is full of heartache, suffering and most of all choices. Overall, Higashi’s Wandering Home shines a light on the perfectly imperfect family life and the unspoken love that brings them home.

Trailer was found thanks to Nippon Cinema!

This film is having its North American Premiere on Thursday July 21st at 9PM at The Japan Society. Tickets can be found here.

For Dr. Stan Glick’s take on the film you can head over to our sister site VCinema and read it here.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a genuine family drama that delivers a simple, yet highly sophisticated narrative with both likeable, well developed characters and an easy-to-follow plot. Well much to my delight I recently came across Toilet (Naoko Ogigami, 2010), a quiet, yet powerful poetic tale of family love unspoken but expressed through individual and group actions. The film effectively removes the familiar melodrama known to pop up in most American cinema replacing it with psychological nuances with each character and powerful visual storytelling.

Ray (Alex House), is a boring, everyday 30-something engineer who collects Gundam robot models as hobby. His life reflects the machine toys he collects as by his own admission he has no interests, no desire, and believes that life is nothing more than boredom. Ray’s nihilism is put to the test when his mother dies at the start of the film leaving her house to him and his siblings, Maury (David Rendall) and Lisa (Tatiana Maslany), and their reclusive Japanese grandmother. After a fire destroys his apartment, Ray is left no choice but to move into the house (after having already refused Lisa’s invitation) with his family to sort out the fate of the property as well as its inhabitants. Eventually, the family begins to subtly bond and grow compassion for each other. Continue Reading…