The Family Game

May 4, 1983

1h 47m

★ 6.8

Overview

A sendup of the stereotypical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife; the older son is a moderate academic success; but the younger son is a rebellious goof-off for whom a tutor must be hired. The tutor, played by the prototypical bad boy actor Matsuda Yusaku, proceeds to blow the entire family apart.

Genres

Comedy

Drama

Production Companies

Art Theatre Guild

Nikkatsu Studio

New Century Producers

The Family Game Trailers

Cast

Yoshimoto

Yūsaku Matsuda

Mr. Numata

Jūzō Itami

Mrs. Numata

Yuki Saori

Shigeyuki

Ichirôta Miyakawa

Shinichi

Junichi Tsujita

Neighbour's Wife

Jun Togawa

Yoshimoto's Lover

Yoko Aki

Tsuchiya

Kôichirô Doi

Shigeyuki's English Teacher

Yoneko Matsukane

Shigeyuki's Japanese Teacher

Katsunobu Ito

Shigeyuki's Gymnastic Teacher

Yoshihiro Katō

Mieko's Mother

Kazuko Shirakawa

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

7.4

Kabei: Our Mother

Jan 26, 2008

Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.

5.7

Trapped in Paradise

Dec 2, 1994

Residents of a friendly Pennsylvania town foil three brothers' plan to rob a bank on Christmas Eve.

0.0

Gamblers and Racketeers

Dec 24, 1964

Komatsu Takioka is boss of a Yakuza group rival to Masakichi Kijima boss of the Kikuya group which supports the town vendors unlike Takioka, who will stop at nothing to undermine the vendors and take over the territory. Masakichi will do all he can to protect and support the people. Ryutaro Kijima is senior son to Masakichi, though disowned, he keeps interest in the family from a distance. He will be there for his father and his hot tempered younger brother Katsuo, if they should need his loyal help.

4.9

Gunmen

May 21, 1993

A New York DEA agent springs an outlaw from jail to lead him to stolen money in South America.

8.0

Late Spring

Sep 13, 1949

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

5.4

Wedding Wars

Dec 11, 2006

In the midst of organizing his brother Ben's wedding, Shel, a gay party planner, decides to go on strike for equal rights when he learns that Ben is behind a political speech against gay marriage.

7.3

Kids on the Slope

Mar 10, 2018

Two different students—a successful but aloof academic and a rebellious but kindhearted delinquent—form a friendship through their love of jazz music.

4.0

Brotherly Love

Aug 17, 2009

A poetic and melancholic short film about two brothers with different intentions. A personal struggle involving obsession, abuse, and guilt.

7.7

Late Autumn

Nov 13, 1960

A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.

7.3

I Live in Fear

Nov 22, 1955

An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring the atomic threat is any saner.

9.5

YUKIKAZE

Aug 15, 2025

Just 80 years ago, the peaceful sea was a battlefield. Soldiers continued to fight, dreaming of returning home, and their families continued to pray and wait for their safety. What stories were there in each of their lives, and what were they each thinking?

8.3

Campus A Go-Go

Dec 19, 1965

Young Guy (Kayama) competes in an electric guitar competition and plays American-style football. Released alongside Invasion of Astro Monster.

8.3

High and Low

Mar 1, 1963

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

7.2

The Blood of Wolves

May 12, 2018

Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.