Ken Ogata (Mishima) delivers a wonderful performance as Honma Nobuo, a lonely, elderly widower who lives with his youngest son, Yasuo (Hayashi Yasufumi), in a remote, snow-covered region of Hokkaido. For the second anniversary of his wife's death, the ailing Nobuo insists that his estranged first son, Ryoichi (Kagawa Teruyuki), return home. Nobuo hopes to come to terms with his family, but the reunion devolves into a bitter affair. Also known as Aruku, Hito, this nuanced drama from Masahiro Kobayashi (The Rebirth) received Un Certain Regard at Cannes. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Masahiro Kobayashi---Japan---2001---103 mins.