A Review of The Family Game by Yoshimitsu Morita Essays -- Kazoku Gemo

I watched The Family Game (Kazoku Gemo) by Yoshimitsu Morita. While initially hesitant I wound up loving the movie. It was a satire that succeeded some(prenominal) in being a pleasure to watch and also at times absolutely hilarious. The Family Game is basically a satire about japans new middle class in the 1980s. The film intermixes industrial imagery between scenes which give the film a bleak feel. At the low level this is a movie about Shigeyuki Numata, a clearly intelligent student who (unlike his brother Shinichi) is largely unconcerned about his academics and does poorly in school. Shigeyukis father, a white-collar worker who is evidently comparatively affluent (but by no means rich), relents to finding his son a tutor (e.g. what Sugimoto describes as tooshie education). Yoshimoto takes on the challenge of increasing Shigeyukis grades and is relentless and demanding in his approach. However, on a more abstract level this is a film with a lot larger aspirations. The Family Ga me explores the problems with the educational systems in Japan, a dysfunctional Japanese family, gender roles, ...