Our Family

Reiko has been unusually absentminded recently. At lunch she responds to a question long after her two companions have changed the topic of conversation. On her way home, she neglects to pick up her husband Katsuaki from work as planned. And when her eldest son Kosuke telephones to inform his parents of his wife’s pregnancy, Reiko momentarily forgets the news before reporting it to Katsuaki. Although her youngest son Shunpei reassures Reiko that memory loss is a common side effect of old age, Reiko’s incoherent mumbling at dinner with Kosuke and his in-laws prompts the family to take Reiko to a doctor. With subtle poignancy, Yuya Ishii’s OUR FAMILY depicts the many challenges—from sibling rivalry to economic uncertainty—a family must overcome as they learn their mother, diagnosed with brain cancer, may only have a week to live. Still, despite the grim prognosis, Ishii’s film reminds us, as Reiko says repeatedly, “In times like these, smile.” (In Japanese with subtitles) – E.B.