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09/08/09
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Kabei: Our Mother (2009)
85
%
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Reviews Counted:13
Fresh:11
Rotten:2
Average Rating:6.9/10
Theatrical Release:May 22, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: The latest film from Yoji Yamada depicts the strong bond between a mother and her family during WWII. Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father,... [More]
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Reviews for Kabei: Our Mother
1 - 13 (sorted by date)
Partly because they're relatively rare, homefront movies usually offer a fresh perspective on the tragedies of World War II. That's the case once more with Kabei: Our Mother, a sad and stirring drama from the other side of the Pacific.
07/10/09
Yoji Yamada's historical drama about a Japanese family's travails during wartime imperial rule teeters on the edge of melodrama, but thankfully hews to a stable and surprisingly poignant path.
06/19/09
[An] unpretentious, engrossing, well-nuanced and tender drama brimming with a raw and powerfully moving performance by Sayuri Yoshinaga.
05/24/09
For those who prefer movies of substance, there are alternatives -- and I don't mean Terminator Salvation.
05/22/09
Top CriticEnriched by Mutsuo Naganuma’s velvety photography, the director’s restrained emotional grammar is surprisingly affecting.
05/22/09
Top CriticDeeply powerful study of a family trying to survive repression and poverty in wartime Japan with much in common--unexpectedly--with the director's Samurai trilogy.
05/21/09
The film’s comparisons of one woman’s suffering to one nation’s social descent aren’t well drawn enough to escape its own melodramatic pitfalls.
05/20/09
This is not a story about lamenting the inevitability of time but rather of living in denial.
05/20/09
Old workhorse Yamada delivers the solar plexus emotional hit of a tragic telegram with precision that shows a lifetime's practice, turning Hallmarkisms sublime.
05/19/09
Top CriticDelicately observed.
05/13/09
Hits all the right spots to make you cry like chopping onions.
02/14/08
Top CriticShows the Shochiku journeyman's prowess in hitting the right buttons to move Japanese auds.
02/14/08
Top Critic1 - 13 (sorted by date)
Latest News for Kabei: Our Mother
May 25, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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