The Family Game

The Family Game is the English title of Kazoku Gēmu, an award-winning 1983 Japanese film by Yoshimitsu Morita. This black comedy dealt with the changing dynamics of home life in Japan at that time.

Plot Summary

The Family Game presents an exaggerated look at the family structure of the time through the Numata family. The father (Juzo Itami) is a distant, alcoholic salaryman who cannot relate to or exert any influence on his family. He is angry that his second son, Shigeyuki (Ichirota Miyagawa), is not as academically successful as his older brother (who is himself only modestly successful in that regard). The mother (Saori Yuki) is a powerless housewife who pampers Shigeyuki. Shigeyuki only finds a measure of success when Yoshimoto (Yusaka Matsuda), a college student, is hired as his tutor — and literally slaps sense into him, forcing him to spend hours every day studying both academic subjects and self-defense. When Shigeyuki eventually gets into a good school, Yoshimoto turns the victory party into a spectacle of food-throwing and violence.

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