TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: Family bonding with Kore-eda's Still Walking

(Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films)

Tribeca has only just begun but already there's a serious front runner for our favorite film in the festival, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Still Walking. Playing next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, this Japanese film is getting its New York premiere at Tribeca, as a part of their Spotlight series which features top-notch independent cinema.

Still Walking centers on an extended family meeting for an afternoon visit. As the movie unfolds intriguing details about this ordinary family come to light—the eldest, most revered son died fifteen years ago rescuing a local boy from drowning, the middle son is out of work, the father is struggling with retirement and the mother is still grieving for her dead son.

Kore-eda's previous movies, including Maboroshi, After Life (now being remade in the U.S.) and Nobody Knows, have all been festival favorites. It's no wonder, Kore-eda's movies feature charming yet flawed characters you can't help but fall in love with and the lovely cinematography by Yutaka Yamasaki is reminiscent of Ozu, with its contemplative shots of clouds in the sky or trees rustling in the wind. Passive aggressive comments, awkward silences and familial dysfunction never looked so good.