Directed by:
Yong-hi YangScreenplay:
Yong-hi YangCinematography:
Yoshihisa TodaCast:
Sakura Andō, 井浦新, Kotomi Kyōno, Tatsushi Ômori, Jun Murakami, Tarō Suwa, 井村空美, Soo-jin Kim, Ik-joon Yang, 宮崎美子, Mutsuo Yoshioka, 津嘉山正種, Maho Yamada, Shinsuke SuzukiPlots(1)
From the late 50s and into the 70s, more than 90,000 of the Koreans resident in Japan emigrated to North Korea, a country that promised them affluence, justice and an end to discrimination. KAZOKU NO KUNI tells the story of one of their number, who returns for just a short period. For the first time in 25 years, Sonho is reunited with his family in Tokyo after being allowed to undergo an operation there.
Sonho's younger sister Rie is at the centre of the film and is not hard to recognise as the director's alter-ego. In her documentaries DEAR PYONGYANG and SONA, THE OTHER MYSELF, Yang Yonghi told the story of her own life: at just six years of age, she had to experience how her three older brothers left the family forever, headed for Pyongyang.
It's difficult to remain unaffected by the story's emotional components. But the director doesn't place her emphasis on melodrama, being simply interested in two people handed radically different life perspectives by the course of history. While Sonho's path is sketched out for him, Rie recognises that a whole world of opportunities is open to her. Including the chance to rebel against her own family.
(Berlinale)
Cast
Sakura Andō
Japan
Best movies:
Love Exposure (2008)
Shoplifters (2018)
Monster (2023)
井浦新
Japan
Best movies:
Like Father, Like Son (2013)
True Mothers (2020)
Ping Pong (2002)
Kotomi Kyōno
Japan
Best movies:
9 Souls (2003)
Labyrinth of Dreams (1997)
Messengers (1999)
Tatsushi Ômori
Japan
Jun Murakami
Japan
Best movies:
The Lightning Tree (2010)
Sword of Desperation (2010)
Vibrator (2003)
Tarō Suwa
Japan
Best movies:
Fear and Trembling (2003)
Be Sure to Share (2009)
Cold Fish (2010)
井村空美
Japan
Best movies:
High-Kick Girl! (2009)
Soo-jin Kim
Japan
Best movies:
Bullet Ballet (1998)
Gemini (1999)
Tetsuo 2: Body Hammer (1992)
Ik-joon Yang
South Korea
Best movies:
Canola (2016)
Maundy Thursday (2006)
The Innocent Man (2012) (series)
宮崎美子
Japan
Best movies:
After the Rain (1999)
Ran (1985)
The Lightning Tree (2010)
Mutsuo Yoshioka
Japan
Best movies:
Man, Woman & the Wall (2006)
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (2003)
Underwater Love (2011)
津嘉山正種
Japan
Best movies:
Maho Yamada
Japan
Best movies:
Rent-a-Cat (2012)
Love Strikes! (2011)
Hard Days (2023)
Shinsuke Suzuki
Japan
Best movies:
The Great Passage (2013)
Blue Spring (2001)
The Snow White Murder Case (2014)