Still Walking (2008)

The three generations gather together in this atmospheric, quiet, stirring film from the Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. They fit easily--and yet uneasily--under the same roof. There is enough physical space for them. It is the emotional space that causes tension. Set in a port city, though largely played out in the tight, boxy confines of a single home, the film turns on a melancholic, at times resentful and seethingly angry 15th-anniversary reunion to mark the death of the eldest son. Grief has brought the scattered family members together, and grief is what keeps them apart. The eldest son has been drowned saving a child from the ocean. He was the prodigal son,the pride of the father and the envy of his brother. When he dies, they are not only unable to resolve their grief, they are also unable to resolve their anger and unmet expectations. They cannot move on, and we see the effect that has on both parents, the siblings, and a glimmering of what the next generation might experience related to this loss. While the bulk of the film occurs over a 24 hour period, there is a flash forward to what the future holds. Which is bittersweet. The message to me was to resolve these problems, otherwise you are embittered for life, maybe even stunted in your ability to enjoy your own life--surely not what the eldest son wanted in his death--and it ripples out from there. Beautifully filmed, well paced, and very thoughtful.