Synopsis

Produced by her mentor Kore-eda Hirokazu, Nishikawa Miwa’s satirical debut feature announced the arrival of a new voice in Japanese cinema. This dark comedy revolves around the Adechis, a seemingly normal, respectable family that uptight teacher Tomoko can bring her fiancé home to meet. But the mask of normalcy is soon torn apart when Tomoko’s mother ignores the distress calls of her senile grandfather and lets him die. Her secretly unemployed father’s debtors disrupt the funeral, but prodigal son Shuji shows up and saves the day with bald-faced lies and ill-gotten funds. Once the black sheep, Shuji suddenly turns into hero while Tomoko struggles to maintain the superficial moral fabric of her crumbling family.