Directed by:
Katsuhito IshiiScreenplay:
Katsuhito IshiiPlots(1)
Meet the Harunos, a rather unconventional, but happy and loving family nonetheless. They live in a small town in the mountains just out of Tokyo where life is good and quiet - but that doesn't mean they don't have their own little problems.
As 8-year old Sachiko (Maya Banno) tries to get rid of a giant version of herself who seems to pop up everywhere, her older brother Hajime (Takahiro Sato), privately wrestles with his love-struck heart. Meanwhile, their mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is working hard, coming out of retirement as an animator, as her husband and professional hypnotist Nobuo (Tomokazu Miura) watches on with slight apprehension. Yoshiko's brother, Ayano (Tadanobu Asano) is just visiting his hometown and staying with the family, but also has ashidden agenda; he needs to come to terms with a romance that ended years ago. Even Nobuo's brother and successful manga artist Todoroki has his problems. It's his birthday soon and he wants to give himself something special. And lastly there's Grandpa, the most bizarre and perhaps the most perceptive of all, who continues to search for a better way to live life to the full.
(official distributor synopsis)
Cast
Maya Banno
Japan
Best movies:
The Taste of Tea (2004)
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
![浅野忠信](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/310/166310604_3e2640.jpg)
浅野忠信
Japan
Best movies:
Our Mother (2008)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)
![Satomi Tezuka](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/396/159396078_fee5f9.jpg)
Satomi Tezuka
Japan
Best movies:
Šindó (2007)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
April Bride (2009)
![Yoshinori Okada](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/515/515884_7d2502.jpg)
Yoshinori Okada
Japan
Best movies:
Romantic Prelude (2009)
Tekkonkinkreet (2006)
Redline (2009)
![Tomoko Nakajima](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/700/162700226_0af762.jpg)
Tomoko Nakajima
Japan
Best movies:
Tokyo Family (2013)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
Parasite Eve (1997)
![Tsuyoshi Kusanagi](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/416/159416398_240f87.jpg)
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Japan
Best movies:
1,778 Stories of Me and My Wife (2011)
To You (2012)
Messengers (1999)
![Hideaki Anno](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/386/386680_589f86.jpg)
Hideaki Anno
Japan
Best movies:
The Wind Rises (2013)
Welcome to the Quiet Room (2007)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
![Susumu Terajima](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/910/166910184_778b74.jpg)
Susumu Terajima
Japan
Best movies:
Nobody Knows (2004)
When Marnie Was There (2014)
Fireworks (1997)
![Rinko Kikuchi](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/276/276004_e5e896.jpg)
Rinko Kikuchi
Japan
Best movies:
By Player (2000)
Babel (2006)
Survive Style 5+ (2004)
![Ryō Kase](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/276/276027_b45532.jpg)
Ryō Kase
Japan
Best movies:
Nobody Knows (2004)
I Just Didn't Do It (2006)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
![Anna Tsuchiya](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/276/276534_2ca824.jpg)
Anna Tsuchiya
Japan
Best movies:
Memories of Matsuko (2006)
Kamikaze Girls (2004)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
![Ken'ichi Matsuyama](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/167/350/167350983_9ebdee.jpg)
Ken'ichi Matsuyama
Japan
Best movies:
Nana (2005)
Bunny Drop (2011)
Šindó (2007)
![志賀廣太郎](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/063/138/63138112_a7b582.jpg)
志賀廣太郎
Japan
Best movies:
Survive Style 5+ (2004)
After Life (1998)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
![尾野真千子](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/064/158064313_02d1c2.jpg)
尾野真千子
Japan
Best movies:
Eureka (2000)
Like Father, Like Son (2013)
Suzaku (1997)
![Yôji Tanaka](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/174/168174702_794k11.jpg)
Yôji Tanaka
Japan
Best movies:
One Piece! (1999)
Kikujiro (1999)
By Player (2000)
![Emi Wakui](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/401/168401602_zcov44.jpg)
Emi Wakui
Japan
Best movies:
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
Robo-G (2012)
![三浦友和](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/149/168149803_jj0jcm.jpg)
三浦友和
Japan
Best movies:
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
Perfect Days (2023)
Always - Sunset on Third Street (2005)
![森岡龍](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/356/160356688_b6b127.jpg)
森岡龍
Japan
Best movies:
The Great Passage (2013)
Suspect X (2008)
Happy Flight (2008)
![高橋一生](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/899/162899640_b24479.jpg)
高橋一生
Japan
Best movies:
Half a Confession (2004)
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
![Keisuke Horibe](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/194/164194386_68278c.jpg)
Keisuke Horibe
Japan
Best movies:
Love Exposure (2008)
Postman Blues (1997)
The 8-Year Engagement (2017)