What a Wonderful Family!

All his wife wants for her birthday….  is a divorce. This single sheet of divorce paper sends the ‘happy family’ into a panic. Hirata Shuzo (HASHIZUME Isao) and his wife Tomiko (YOSHIYUKI Kazuko) have been married for fifty years. In an attempt to find a solution, they hold a ‘family conference’ to discuss the issue, but soon everyone starts revealing their secrets and dissatisfactions and the situation takes an unexpected turn.

The first comedy directed by master director YAMADA Yoji and the first new entry in the Japanese award-winning  It’s Tough to Be a Man series in twenty years. This film was lauded at the Japanese Academy Awards and explores the dynamics of a modern family in a comical way by exploring a ‘vintage year divorce’- a phenomenonwhich is on the increase in Japan. This film would be a good companion piece with Tokyo Story by OZU Yasujiro.