Light-hearted comedies can sometimes grate with their over-acting, banal soundtracks and overly-simplistic moral messages on conclusion. Kenji Katagiri's second feature "A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad's an Alcoholic" has all of these elements, but while you'd expect a straightforward comedy, there are some unexpected, and welcome, surprises on offer. Kanpai!
Toshifumi (usually hairstyled slacker Kiyohiko Shibukawa) works in HR - he's the mushroom at parties - and supports his dutiful, religious wife Saeko (Rie Tomosaka) and two daughters, Saki and Fumi (played by various actresses at different life stages). Feeling it part of his role, Toshi frequently stays out all night drinking with work colleagues and hosts all night mahjong sessions with his friends, while Saeko plays hostess, regularly opening the fridge door.
But while Toshi enjoys himself, the three females of the family suffer in silence, until Saeko can take no more and takes action. This leaves an ageing Toshi to take care of the now adult Saki (Honoka Matsumoto) and Fumi (Yui Imaizumi), and while he starts off with good intentions, he is soon led astray once more.
The two daughters increasingly lose sympathy for their father, particularly the elder Saki, who increasingly defines her life around her dad's behaviour. But, once things come to a head, Saki questions where things went wrong for her family.
While the subject matter is far from comical, Shibukawa is an actor you typically associate with a more comic role. And indeed, as the alcoholic, he is regularly tasked with arriving home at all hours drunk as a skunk, playing the fool. The jovial soundtrack only adds to this, as you feel you might be headed for a typically whimsical Japanese comedy.
But all this changes when Saki, a budding manga artist, silently reflects on her thoughts on the situation. Manga thought bubbles appear and the soundtrack falls silent as a young woman struggles to deal with her father's drunken behaviour. Is he wrong? Is she herself wrong? What is causing this situation?
While this becomes a regular feature, the initial moment of self-reflection comes with a deafening silence and instantly kills this as a quirky comedy. Quickly, we are taken into the mind of a troubled young woman having to negotiate a difficult scenario, and for this Katagiri has to be commended. Combined with Toshi's larger-than-life drunken behaviour, this feels every bit a manga adaptation of Mariko Kikuchi's work.
That's not to say that "A Life Turned Upside Down" isn't a little unrefined, however. Overacting is commonplace throughout, particularly when Toshi is drunk with his gaggle of friends. Sadly, they become a little too one dimensional as characters who drink and not a whole lot more. This detracts from the more serious topic of workplace social drinking, well documented in Japan. Toshi himself is not always a violent or out-of-control drunk; and drinking is part of the work culture he must adhere to. This is highlighted by his best friend at work, Kinoshita (Kenta Hamano), who doesn't drink being overlooked for promotion and eventually ousted. But the larger-than-life nature of Toshi's drinking make this less of a focus on the social and work pressures to drink.
Toshi is a happy drunk, only once really getting violent, and Saki's lack of reaching out to her father is noticeable. Not to defend her father's actions and behaviour, but the younger sister, Fumi, has a more happy-go-lucky outlook and so doesn't internalise her father's drinking as much. She appears to cope much better and more maturely, particularly when she can see Saki walking into an abusive relationship with her drunken boyfriend. As ever, Saki's revelations perhaps come too late. Sometimes perhaps the manga thought bubbles hinder her vision.
Shibukawa gives a performance that is a little different to his usual: here his drunkenness is more in-your-face than apathetic; and his blank expressions more of a middle-aged man struggling to cope, than a more youthful slacker. He fits the role well and we may see more of him as a salaryman as age catches up with him.
Several difficult subjects are handled in a less than conventional manner, and the manga elements are woven in well and have the desired effect. Much like Toshi, the film's heart is there, but it gets a little misguided at times and indulges itself a little too often. But, it certainly offers enough to discuss down the pub after...if only you could go there.
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Toshifumi (usually hairstyled slacker Kiyohiko Shibukawa) works in HR - he's the mushroom at parties - and supports his dutiful, religious wife Saeko (Rie Tomosaka) and two daughters, Saki and Fumi (played by various actresses at different life stages). Feeling it part of his role, Toshi frequently stays out all night drinking with work colleagues and hosts all night mahjong sessions with his friends, while Saeko plays hostess, regularly opening the fridge door.
But while Toshi enjoys himself, the three females of the family suffer in silence, until Saeko can take no more and takes action. This leaves an ageing Toshi to take care of the now adult Saki (Honoka Matsumoto) and Fumi (Yui Imaizumi), and while he starts off with good intentions, he is soon led astray once more.
The two daughters increasingly lose sympathy for their father, particularly the elder Saki, who increasingly defines her life around her dad's behaviour. But, once things come to a head, Saki questions where things went wrong for her family.
While the subject matter is far from comical, Shibukawa is an actor you typically associate with a more comic role. And indeed, as the alcoholic, he is regularly tasked with arriving home at all hours drunk as a skunk, playing the fool. The jovial soundtrack only adds to this, as you feel you might be headed for a typically whimsical Japanese comedy.
But all this changes when Saki, a budding manga artist, silently reflects on her thoughts on the situation. Manga thought bubbles appear and the soundtrack falls silent as a young woman struggles to deal with her father's drunken behaviour. Is he wrong? Is she herself wrong? What is causing this situation?
While this becomes a regular feature, the initial moment of self-reflection comes with a deafening silence and instantly kills this as a quirky comedy. Quickly, we are taken into the mind of a troubled young woman having to negotiate a difficult scenario, and for this Katagiri has to be commended. Combined with Toshi's larger-than-life drunken behaviour, this feels every bit a manga adaptation of Mariko Kikuchi's work.
That's not to say that "A Life Turned Upside Down" isn't a little unrefined, however. Overacting is commonplace throughout, particularly when Toshi is drunk with his gaggle of friends. Sadly, they become a little too one dimensional as characters who drink and not a whole lot more. This detracts from the more serious topic of workplace social drinking, well documented in Japan. Toshi himself is not always a violent or out-of-control drunk; and drinking is part of the work culture he must adhere to. This is highlighted by his best friend at work, Kinoshita (Kenta Hamano), who doesn't drink being overlooked for promotion and eventually ousted. But the larger-than-life nature of Toshi's drinking make this less of a focus on the social and work pressures to drink.
Toshi is a happy drunk, only once really getting violent, and Saki's lack of reaching out to her father is noticeable. Not to defend her father's actions and behaviour, but the younger sister, Fumi, has a more happy-go-lucky outlook and so doesn't internalise her father's drinking as much. She appears to cope much better and more maturely, particularly when she can see Saki walking into an abusive relationship with her drunken boyfriend. As ever, Saki's revelations perhaps come too late. Sometimes perhaps the manga thought bubbles hinder her vision.
Shibukawa gives a performance that is a little different to his usual: here his drunkenness is more in-your-face than apathetic; and his blank expressions more of a middle-aged man struggling to cope, than a more youthful slacker. He fits the role well and we may see more of him as a salaryman as age catches up with him.
Several difficult subjects are handled in a less than conventional manner, and the manga elements are woven in well and have the desired effect. Much like Toshi, the film's heart is there, but it gets a little misguided at times and indulges itself a little too often. But, it certainly offers enough to discuss down the pub after...if only you could go there.
politic1983.home.blog
