Kazoku iro: Railways – Watašitači no šuppacu

Shun'ya and Akira travel from Tokyo all the way to Kagoshima Prefecture to meet Shun'ya's grandfather. Akira's husband and Shun'ya's father has died, and the two of them now have nowhere to go because of their debts. Essentially, we're watching several generations come together who are not actually particularly distant from each other – not in this film. This is probably because each of them (especially Akira and Shun'ya) have to go through a separation. I mean a proper goodbye. It's not about the funeral, it's about the realization that after the death of a loved one you're basically dependent on (whether financially or emotionally), you have to stand on your own two feet and, more importantly, come to terms with it. It takes time. Especially in Japanese society, where these issues aren't particularly aired out loud. It's a slow film, quite deep at the beginning, which, while it does graduate towards the end (as only the "slice of life" genre can), unfortunately it also becomes diluted. At least it felt that way to me. Somehow I found the ending, perhaps idyllic (though I wanted it, of course), and so poorly delivered. I guess it was because of what Shun'ya, meaning the actor Kiyama Ryusei, said at the end. A bit of a cringe for me already. But otherwise I liked it. Granted, Arimura Kasumi's acting was uneven, sometimes “hey" and sometimes “ew", and Sakuraba Nanami didn't suit me at all, but Kunimura Jun was beautifully down to earth as an actor, so it was awfully nice with him and his character. He didn't advise, but he helped. A nice sad snapshot of life and from trains. A weak 4 stars. (2020.10.04)