very weak, unfortunately

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

After reading the plot, I expected 'Still Walking' to be one of those melodramatic family reunion films where the members reunite one day and resolve all their differences. Well in reality, It's much more subtle than that and actually brings out why, in real-life, reconciliation is much harder than we may expect or like it to be, even among family members. Some disagreements that you may have have with your mom or dad may be such that you will have to go against your principles/values if you want to make peace with them. These are the kinds of issues that are portrayed in this film, with beauty and emotional intensity. But there is a message of reconciliation as well because although the characters have their differences, they try their best to get through the occasion without hurting each other's feelings and at least trying to pretend as if their differences do not matter when they're together. I am starting to really like Hirokazu Koreeda's works. If you like watching films that have a strong social,family-based narrative, you should really check out Koreeda's films. In a nutshell - Is it a deeply moving film? yes. Is it a realistic portrayal of common family issues? Yes. But is it one of those "and they happily lived together ever after" films? No.

"Aruteimo, Aruteimo", directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, starts off very pedestrian-like (no joke intended) but grows in importance and substantive weight of it's content. (Major Spoilers) Taking a good 30 min to unveil it's true story arc and purpose, this movie is a bit slow to rise, but once we understand the impact of the memorial much of the character's motivations are understood and become clear. (Spoilers) I enjoyed the butterfly scenes, and the mother expressing her grief through it. Although the beginning of the movie does not have narration, the end blasts in with it, almost crushing us with it's lamentation. It serves a good warning - that people may have good intentions, but often important or friendship-building plans get forgotten or fail to materialize. A poignant drama despite slow pacing.

Koreeda's Aruite Mo Aruite Mo is a consideration of family that is part homage, part vivisection. The comparisons to Ozu that have been made are fitting, the film a return to the Golden Age of Japanese film-making when a distinctly Japanese setting was employed to convey universal themes. The domestic setting, limited time-frame, and even knee-high camera placement all deliberately connote Ozu, but not so much to bow before him, as to re-invent him, to update or even evolve the form. Koreeda seems to have set out less to pay his respects to Ozu, as to surpass him.Ryota brings his new wife and stepson home to to meet his family on the anniversary of his older brother Junpei's passing. The cycle of pettiness, accusation, pouting and recrimination soon kicks in, familiar theatre of family that will have people recalling Thanksgiving get-togethers, Hogmanany parties, Christmas fall-outs... The joy is in the details of Koreeda's observations, and the forceful animation of them by the cast. From the opening conversation between mother and daughter, playful banter on lessons never learned, wisdom refused, the tone of interdependence with tense undercurrents is set.YOU as Chinami is more straightforward than her mis-maternal role in Nobody Knows, angling to move in with her parents by talking to her mother as a type, rather than as a person. Kirin Kiki is best known these days here in Japan for her comic outing in the Fuji film commercials. She excels there and here, sweet and doddering at one point, and yet scary, almost vicious at others, as when she reveals the depth of her loathing for Yoshio, the boy-now-man whom her son Junpei died saving from drowning. Her cool gaze upon her grandchildren is evidence of Koreeda's consummate ease in avoiding sentimentality. Hiroshi Abe holds up his end more than competently as the brooding Ryota. Recently 're-structured', he finds his conflicting roles as failed breadwinner, failed heir, struggling stepfather and less-favoured son all brought to salience in this one event. He is too proud to admit his jobless status, but not man enough to help his wife carry the bags. He reacts just as his father reacts to the shock of retirement, or his mother reacts to facing life's disappointments - by lashing out. He is a grown man in gaudy cheap pajamas bought by his mum. He competes with not one ghost, but two - his brother, and his wife's first husband. Who can shine in comparison with martyrs?Families can be joyous and awful, and Koreeda captures that to a tee. The film seems to go on a beat too long, past a line on the bus that seems the natural ending, but then the final narration (reminiscent of Twilight Samurai) and graveside scene pull it all together poignantly. Granddad thinks they will be back at New Year - they won't. Chinami thinks her mother wants them to move in - she doesn't. Yoshio thinks he is welcome every year - he isn't. Families are destined to misunderstand each other. And yet the honouring of Junpei, the father cracking water-melons with his children, Granddad reaching out to his step-grandson - the succour of family is also portrayed here.No one does bitter-sweet and elegiac quite like Koreeda, and in Aruite Mo Aruite Mo he achieves the quintessential mix that he was arguably striving for in After Life and Maboroshi. This is a film both comforting and challenging, that may just turn out to be Koreeda's masterpiece.

A respected art house audience film that likewise connects with critics. This Ozu-influenced drama is heavy on Japanese culture, particularly family values. Those unfamiliar with this culture may have difficulty understanding character thinking and motivation.For myself, I tend to appreciate the authentic look to the drama, without feeling or caring much about what happens. The often static camera during family meals (the time spent eating seems to be filmed in real time) didn't help much in providing movement to the enactment. Actually, I prefer the French film, "A Sunday in the Country," which has a similar feel and is much more involving. That's purely my reaction, and will concede the art house where it's playing is the best place for it and where it needs to be.