Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux
The latest ACA Cinema Project series Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux examines the shifting dynamics and struggles of the Japanese household in contemporary cinema. Showcasing 10 features, including premieres and revivals, Family Portrait confronts the complexities of familial bonds in the face of adversity—from intergenerational gaps to changing mores and traditions—bringing to question what truly defines a family and its values in a modern world. Series highlights include the U.S. Premiere of Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring international star Rinko Kikuchi in a bravura performance as a woman hitchhiking over 400 miles to her father’s funeral; the U.S. Premiere of Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl, the heart-tugging story of a family lacquerware business on the brink of collapse run by Kaoru Kobayashi of Midnight Diner fame and the daughter who strives to carry on its legacy despite deeply held traditional gender beliefs; and a Classics slate featuring a rare 35mm presentation of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Twilight. A special spotlight will be given to director Ryota Nakano, who has spent his career keenly capturing the complex feelings of families when faced with adversity. His latest film, The Asadas, centers on the power of family in the aftermath of the Fukushima tragedy and will be presented along with his two previous works, A Long Goodbye and Her Love Boils Bathwater. Nakano will appear in-person at Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux to speak during select screenings and take part in a reception. Presented by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society. |
The latest ACA Cinema Project series Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux examines the shifting dynamics and struggles of the Japanese household in contemporary cinema. Showcasing over nine features, including premieres and revivals, Family Portrait confronts the complexities of familial bonds in the face of adversity—from intergenerational gaps to changing mores and traditions—bringing to question what truly defines a family and its values in a modern world. Series highlights include the U.S. Premiere of Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring international star Rinko Kikuchi in a bravura performance as a woman hitchhiking over 400 miles to her father’s funeral; the U.S. Premiere of Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl, the heart-tugging story of a family lacquerware business on the brink of collapse run by Kaoru Kobayashi of Midnight Diner fame and the daughter who strives to carry on its legacy despite deeply held traditional gender beliefs; and a Classics slate featuring a rare 35mm presentation of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Twilight. A special spotlight will be given to director Ryota Nakano, who has spent his career keenly capturing the complex feelings of families when faced with adversity. His latest film, The Asadas, centers on the power of family in the aftermath of the Fukushima tragedy and will be presented along with his two previous works, A Long Goodbye and Her Love Boils Bathwater. Nakano will appear in-person at Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux to speak during select screenings and take part in a reception. Presented by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society. |
Admission Information & Pricing
Her Love Boils Bathwater Screening & Reception:
$18 Nonmembers / $14 Members
All Other Japan Society Screenings:
$16 Nonmembers / $12 Members
Pricing for IFC Center’s Yoko Screening may vary.
Feature Slate
Still Walking
Thursday, February 15, 7 pm
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2008 drama is a masterfully directed, emotionally nuanced expression of the love, heartbreak and comfort within family relationships, and a modern classic of Japanese cinema.
Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008, 114 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, Kirin Kiki, Yoshio Harada.
Tsugaru Lacquer Girl
Friday, February 16, 7 pm
U.S. Premiere. A vivid celebration of tsugaru-nuri lacquerwork, one of Japan’s most traditional arts, Tsugaru Lacquer Girl asks poignant questions about history, family and if the past has a place in the future.
Dir. Keiko Tsuruoka, 2023, 118 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Mayu Hotta, Kaoru Kobayashi.
Hoyaman
Sunday, February 18, 4 pm
U.S. Premiere. A tearful comedy set on a beautiful island, Hoyaman follows the strange adventures of two fisherman brothers and a mysterious artist who drifts onto the island and into their lives.
Dir. Teruaki Shoji, 2023, 106 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Afro, Kumi Kureshiro, Kodai Kurosaki.
Tokyo Sonata
Sunday, February 18, 7 pm
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s appropriately terrifying take on the domestic drama looks beyond the platitudes of familial values and empty promise of a happy life into the recesses of the human condition.
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2008, 119 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Kai Inowaki, Yu Koyanagi.
Yoko (Offsite Screening)
Thursday, February 22, 7 pm
U.S. Premiere. Winner of Best Picture at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Yoko is an unorthodox road movie following an isolated woman’s journey to hitchhike over 400 miles to her estranged father’s funeral.
This screening takes place at IFC Center (323 6th Ave).
Dir. Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, 2023, 113 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Rinko Kikuchi, Pistol Takehara, Asuka Kurosawa.
Her Love Boils Bathwater
Friday, February 23, 7 pm
New York Premiere with Director Q&A and Reception. Futaba, a single mother diagnosed with terminal cancer, sets out on a mission to reconnect her family, reuniting with her husband, reassuring her daughter, and bringing both together to save the family business.
Dir. Ryota Nakano, 2016, 125 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Joe Odagiri.
A Long Goodbye
Saturday, February 24, 4 pm
New York Premiere. A Long Goodbye traces the gradual memory loss of the aging Shohei due to Alzheimer’s and the challenges and joys his two daughters experience as they return home to care for him.
Dir. Ryota Nakano, 2019, 127 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Yu Aoi, Yuko Takeuchi, Tsutomu Yamazaki.
The Asadas
Saturday, February 24, 7 pm
Talk Session with Director Ryota Nakano. Inspired by real-life photographer Masashi Asada, director Ryota Nakano’s latest film balances humor and heart in an unexpectedly true story.
Dir. Ryota Nakano, 2020, 127 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Kazunari Ninomiya, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Masaki Suda.
Classics
Muddy River
Saturday, February 17, 4 pm
2K restoration. Taking place in working class Osaka 11 years after Japan’s defeat, Kohei Oguri’s naturalistic debut details an unforgettable summer friendship between two young boys tinged with a poetic melancholy.
Dir. Kohei Oguri, 1981, 105 min. DCP, b/w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Takahiro Tamura, Yumiko Fujita, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara.
Tokyo Twilight
Saturday, February 17, 7 pm
35mm Presentation. In the thick of the industrial hums of postwar Tokyo, Yasujiro Ozu’s crepuscular drama concerns the lives of elderly Shukichi’s two grown-up daughters, each taking lodgings at their father’s Tokyo home.
Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, 1957, 140 min., 35mm, b/w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishu Ryu.
Top Image © 2008 “Still Walking” Production Committee.
The ACA Cinema Project is a new initiative organized as part of the “Japan Film Overseas Expansion Enhancement Project,” an ongoing project founded by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (ACA) to create opportunities for the increased exposure, development and appreciation of Japanese cinema overseas through screenings, symposiums and other events held throughout the year. The ACA Cinema Project introduces a wide range of Japanese films in the United States, a major center of international film culture, together with local partners, such as Japan Society, IFC Center and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater.
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, Geoff and Fumi Matters, David Toberisky, 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 Kitano Hotel, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film.