Kabei: Our Mother

"An inspiring story of a mother's courage in a time of war."

2008 2h 13m JA

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 44

FamilyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.

“An inspiring story of a mother's courage in a time of war.”

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Cast

Mirai Shida
Hatsuko Nogami
Tadanobu Asano
Yamazaki Toru
Chieko Baisho
Hatsuko Nogami
Denden
Fukuda
Sayuri Yoshinaga
Kayo Nogami
Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Shigeru Nogami
Keiko Toda
Teruyo Nogami
Daisuke Gori
Toru

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yoji Yamada
Writers: Teruyo Nogami, Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yoji Yamada, shot by Mutsuo Naganuma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Isao Tomita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Iwao Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mirai Shida and Tadanobu Asano and Chieko Baisho carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An inspiring story of a mother's courage in a time of war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0855852 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yoji Yamada directs. Mutsuo Naganuma behind the camera. Isao Tomita scores. Iwao Ishii cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 18 years ago.
2Directed by Yoji Yamada, shot by Mutsuo Naganuma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Isao Tomita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Iwao Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Mirai Shida and Tadanobu Asano and Chieko Baisho carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "An inspiring story of a mother's courage in a time of war.".
7IMDB entry: tt0855852 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "mother", "japan", "widow", "world war ii".