The Crazy Family

『逆噴射家族』 
Gyaku-funsha Kazoku

40th Anniversary. Salaryman Katsukuni Kobayashi moves his family into the suburbs, fulfilling the domestic dream of owning a quaint two-floor home far removed from the urban suffocation of Tokyo. An idyllic white picket existence, suburban bliss also offers a semblance of hope for the neurotic Kobayashi who’s diagnosed his family with an affliction of gendai byo—the “disease of modern life”—their “strange” ways only curable within the sanctity of middle-class suburbia. But Kobayashi’s own sense of inadequacy consigns him to a maniacal pursuit to combat these supposed ills and maladies, turning his home into an utter war zone as he fights termite infestations and even his entire family (daughter Erika played by Typhoon Club’s Youki Kudoh in her on-screen debut). Along with Morita’s equally iconic Family Game released the year prior, Sogo Ishii’s Crazy Family is one of the era’s most eviscerating takedowns of the Japanese family unit, a twisted punk satire of the long-held values and dreams of the postwar generation.

Dir. Sogo Ishii, 1984, 107 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Katsuya Kobayashi, Mitsuko Baisho, Youki Kudoh.

Part of Directors Company x2

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© 1984 Directors Company/International Broadcasting/ATG

Japan Society programs are made possible by leadership support from Booth Ferris Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family and Friends of Film. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film.