The Family Game (1983) [Film Review]

The Family Game; or, Keeping Up with the Numatas
     Why do we have to sacrifice so much for the sake of our children?
Yoshimitsu Morita’s Kazuko Gemu movie from 1983 is widely hailed by Japanese critics as the truly postmodernist motion picture made in Japan. It is hard to disagree with this categorisation. The film presents a very quirky take on the family unit and its degradation within the “bubble era” reality of Japan of the 1980s.

Release Info

Directed by: Yoshimitsu Morita Starring: Yusaku Matsuda, Ichirota Miyakawa, Saori Yuki, Juzo Itami

Language: Japanese Original Title: 家族ゲーム Runtime: 106 min

Synopsis
Katsu Yoshimoto (Yusaku Matsuda) is hired as a private tutor to help Shigeyuki Numata (Ichirota Miyakawa) who has low grades at school. The two meet regularly at the Numata household and Yoshimoto quickly discovers that his student does not care about studying at all, in contrast to Shigeuki’s older brother, Shinichi (Junichi Tsujita). The mother, Chikako (Saori Yuki), is too subtle and soft when dealing with her children; whereas the father, Kosuke (Juzo Itami), is way too strict. Yoshimoto presses on and attempts to turn Shigeyuki into an exemplary student.

All in the Family
After looking at the filmography of Yoshimitsu Morita, it seems that the director was a specialist at slice-of-life dramas. The Family Game is no exception as it focuses on family members who are desperately focused on performing their social roles without really putting emotions into it. Everything that matters is to “keep up appearances” of being exemplary members of the society: a hardworking breadwinner, a devoted housewife, gifted children.

The theme of meaninglessness is introduced with the character of Shigeyuki who does not see any purpose in learning at all; however, he begins to improve at school not because of the guidance of his tutor, but because he treats it like a game that angers his bullies…

In addition, we can also observe some interesting sequences which would not be present in a regular school drama done in the style of GTO (1997) or A Class to Remember (1993): transitions between the rooms of Shigeyuki and Shinichi, Yoshimoto chasing Shigeyuki down the staircase, or having a dinner at super short table. Such moments add the factor of the unreal to the story which basically has no resolution.

I am not a huge fan of postmodernist tales, but I have to admit that The Family Game did manage to keep me interested from beginning to the end. I rooted for the mom and her difficult situation in the house, but I also wanted to see how Shigeyuki’s affairs at school will unfold. Yoshimitsu Morita skillfully dissects the emptiness of family relations, which is exposed in the final scene of the film.

With regard to performances, Yusaku Matsuda steals the movie with his performance as a tutor. It is mind-blowing to think that the last film he ever did before passing away was Ridley Scott’s Black Rain from 1989. Additionally, I loved the appearances of Saori Yuki and Juzo Itami (didn’t recognise him at first!) as the parents. Come to think of it, The Family Game is devoid of typical Itami humour, but it definitely has the satirical touch which is present in all of his movies.

Interestingly, the movie served as a source of inspiration for a 2013 drama of the same title. I have only seen the first episode of the show, and the overall tone of the story is radically different. The tutor character played by Sho Sakurai definitely seems to be the main protagonist.

Recommendations
If you want to experience early postmodernist vibes of Japanese culture, apart from Haruki Murakami novels, then I recommend The Family Game. It is quite an interesting film for what it is. Worth checking out just to see the 1980s aesthetics on the screen.Overall score: 7/10

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