Taking place over a single day, Kore-eda’s family drama Still Walking brings together the children and spouses of the Yokoyama family under the roof of its patriarch, Kyohei, and matriarch, Toshiko. Each year, the family remembers the passing of the eldest son, Junpei, which has shaped the dynamic of the entire family.

Indeed Junpei is the most important character in the film, though he has been dead for 15 years, and never appears on screen; his presence is felt in every scene, every room and every conversation. His death is something that his family has simply never accepted. Kyohei (the father of the deceased) in particular, has spent the last 15 years in hopeless disapproval of everyone around him. This is a family living in a shadow of loss, and the effects are apparent in nearly every scene.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Still Walking is not a dreary film. Tightly controlled and subtly peppered with moments of dark humor, things never go too far into the sentimental melodrama category. Though the film is largely about death, it retains an oddly positive and uplifting manner, largely due to the protagonist’s desire to move on, even if his parents will not.  

One of the bright spots: the food. The film’s opening line is “radishes are genius,” the camera tightly focused on a daikon being peeled for a family meal. Through the rest of the film, we continually return to meals, food and cooking as a sort of “glue” keeping this dysfunctional family together. From conversations about sushi restaurants to full-on cooking scenes, Kore-eda has chosen to spend a lot of time shooting and talking about food. (He explains in the interview included on the disc that it helped him connect the film with memories of his own mother’s meals.)

Criterion’s recent Blu-ray release of Still Walking is wonderful. The film itself is beautifully shot and recorded, and it’s been captured perfectly on the 1080p transfer. Included is a very nice booklet featuring, along with information about the film, a special surprise. 

Recipes from the film! In fact, recipes from the director’s own family, which ended up in the film.

The included recipes are:

Kinpira Daikon

Corn Tempura

Pork Belly Kakuni

Rice with Edamame and Myoga Ginger

They actually look really good, and I can’t wait to try them. Especially the corn tempura, which makes brilliant simple use of summer corn and tempura batter.