(2024 JFF) Mom, Is That You?!

Yamada Yoji

Yoshinaga Sayuri, Oizumi Yo, Nagano Mei

Working amongst the so-called “elite” in bustling Tokyo, HR manager Akio (OIZUMI Yo) finds himself seriously burnt out amidst work-related problems, his impending divorce and a strained relationship with his college-aged daughter, Mai (NAGANO Mei). Seeking a reprieve from the stresses of modern life, Akio decides to pay a visit to his childhood home in downtown Tokyo where his mother Fukue (YOSHINAGA Sayuri) lives. But instead of the familiar matronly figure he’s used to, Akio is shocked when he is greeted by a transformed Fukue donning fashionable attire, and that’s not the biggest surprise... she seems to have fallen in love! Heartfelt, wholesome and relatable, film veteran YAMADA Yoji’s 90th film is a feelgood portrayal of intergenerational family in modern Japan.