Known for Acting
Due to his impoverished upbringing Nishihata Tamotsu is unable to read or write. Fortunately he is supported by his beloved wife Kyouko who helps him with the things he cannot do alone. As thanks for her support Tamotsu wishes to write her a love letter, and so decides to enroll at a local evening school in order to finally learn to write.
39-year-old Yuko is a high-achieving and proud woman whose career ambitions took her from a sleepy part of Amagasaki City, to Tokyo. When she loses her job due to her “high standards” attitude, she loses her drive to do anything and ends up retreating to her family home where she lives as a NEET with her laidback joker of a father, Ryutaro. For years, the two get along until her 70-something old man brings home Saki, his 20-year-old bride-to-be. When the younger woman shacks up with the two, a comedy of manners based, quite understandably, on a scandalised Yuko’s “you’re not my mom!” attitude ensues as the younger woman takes to mothering her but when crises occur, Yuko truly begins to evaluate just what a family can be.
Shizuka lives with her father Junsuke, who runs a photo studio in a local shopping district. Her father was born deaf and her mother, who was also deaf, died when Shizuka was little. Shizuka has been Junsuke's ears since she was a child. Therefore, she has a habit of staring at the other person and talking with gestures. However, this habit is perceived poorly and her colleagues at the restaurant where she works part-time do not like her. One day, Shizuka sees Keiichi, a regular customer of the restaurant, in trouble because he can't explain himself to a shopkeeper and Shizuka helps him. Two people who are not good at communicating normally are attracted to each other...
Hiroto Miyama works with rookie lawyer Honoka Kono on a team that specializes with criminal cases for Madarame Law Firm. Atsuhiro Sada has become the director of the law firm. One day, the law firm receives a request about a case that took place 15 years ago. The case was about a poisonous wine incident.
Three patients of different backgrounds, illnesses and stages are being treated at a psychiatric clinic in Nagano Prefecture. Their cases range from the criminal to merely asocial. That should be that, but soon matters take a darker turn when a corpse turns up and a murder has occurred. The culprit fingered is one of the patients.
It is the early 1930s and the command of the Japanese Imperial Navy determines to construct the world's biggest and most formidable battleship, Yamato. One of the admirals, Yamamoto Isoroku, disagrees. He recruits the upstart and mathematics' expert Tadashi Kai who discovers there are discrepancies between the official cost estimates and the actual figures. They soon find out that they have stumbled upon a conspiracy.
At the Hirata home, three generations of their family live together. A crisis ensues when one afternoon, housewife Fumie falls asleep and wakes up to find a thief has stolen her secret money she kept hidden in the refrigerator.
The film follows the relationship between a mother and her son. In 1945, the mother played by Sayuri Yoshinaga fled with her two sons from the Russians to Hokkaido. In 1972, her son played by Masato Sakai returns to Japan after finding success in the U.S.
Several years after Shuzo settled his wife’s birthday-surprise divorce proposal (What a Wonderful Family, 40th), the Hirata family faces new problems. Ignoring his family’s worry that he is too old to drive, Shuzo takes his old schoolmate for a spin after carousing. Soon, a new disturbance arises for the Hirata family. Veteran director Yamada Yoji continues his comedy about the “perfect“ Japanese family turned upside down in chaos, laughters and understanding. This time, with an additional taste of death.
Senichi was born in 1964, when the entire nation was excited about the Tokyo Olympics. As an elementary student, Senichi won a footrace and got a taste of what winning felt like. Since then, Senichi takes part in various competitions including drawing and usually wins. He keeps struggling to win gold medals at competitions.
