A naturally acted ( by real life brothers who are part of a comedy duo ) story investigates the nuances of Family Life in todays Japan.
It is worth noting how the three generations portrayed handle the challenges presented.The Older Generation have close compact relationships and find an embracing opportunity when new technology ( in this case a high speed supertrain ) comes into their environment.Their established ,coherent , traditional ways of coming to an effective yet pro-active accommodation , as they have with the proximity of a nearby volcano over many generations are given a metaphor in the grandfathers wish to make a traditional cake to mark the coming of the train.Alas , one of the ingredients he used ( granulated sugar , instead of traditional sugar made in the locality ) somewhat weakens the cake , making it lose its fragrance and sweetness and become "soft" in flavour.
Whilst the older generation is tackling the challenges with an enthusiastic ,admirable , diligence the post -war generation ( the boys separated Mother and Father) are an unstable , disorientated , shambolic antithesis even as the Boys determine it will take a wishful miracle to stabilise a Family Life they have every right to regard as a Normal Right , a right that the Boys grandparents admirably provide given circumstances of distant absence of the Boys staying separately with each parent.When push comes to shove the best the middle generation can give is to go deeper into their position of self-absorbed selfishness.
This Guardian review gives a decent synopsis of the film in which the Boys go on a journey aided and abetted by their Grandparents and also another set of willing helpers from the Older Generation who become the heroes of passing the right of continuity to the Children which the generation of Japanese most influenced by external consumerists values are completely unable to.
In the end the Boys make their own wishes , and decide they will chart another , their own, course from a situation that needs a major change of compass.
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