Long-serving salesman Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is made redundant when his company cuts labour costs. Seeing it as a shameful personal failure, Sasaki continues to dress in a suit and leave for the office each morning, maintaining the charade of affluent breadwinner.
But in fact, an alienation at home has already taken hold. His wife Megumi (Kyoko Koizumi), quietly depressed, spends her time mechanically doing chores whilst both sons are rebelling, disrespecting their parents’ authority. In painful symmetry, the family drifts apart while striving to sustain their lies.
This haunting domestic drama is elegantly directed and masterfully acted, with a story of familial estrangement that lingers in the mind long after the film has finished.
