This is a lovingly directed and acted movie. It's obvious that someone cared when they made this movie. However, while these quality elements are there, I found the movie to be very dull and SOME of the characters inexplicably annoying. Perhaps I am one of the only people who became irritated by how obnoxious the two little boys were in the movie and how incredibly over-indulgent the family was. When the father FINALLY yelled at one of the brats, the jerks ran away and everyone scolded the father. I DON'T like to be around brats in my own life if I can help it, and watching brats in a movie is very unsatisfying for me. Am I the only one who wanted to see these two kids smacked?! Apart from this visceral reaction, I was amazed how LITTLE I reacted to everyone else in the film. I just found myself bored.
This film was followed up two years later with Tokyo Story. While many of the same story elements recur in the second film (a sense of alienation, spoiled kids, parents assessing and re-assessing that things have gone well despite a few setbacks, etc.), the overall story is just more compelling and interesting.
This film was followed up two years later with Tokyo Story. While many of the same story elements recur in the second film (a sense of alienation, spoiled kids, parents assessing and re-assessing that things have gone well despite a few setbacks, etc.), the overall story is just more compelling and interesting.