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No consensus yet.
All Critics (14) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (2)
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. Jul 10, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
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.
John Hartl
For those who prefer movies of substance, there are alternatives -- and I don't mean Terminator Salvation. May 22, 2009 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
For those who prefer movies of substance, there are alternatives -- and I don't mean Terminator Salvation.
V.A. Musetto
Enriched by Mutsuo Naganuma's velvety photography, the director's restrained emotional grammar is surprisingly affecting. May 22, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5
Enriched by Mutsuo Naganuma's velvety photography, the director's restrained emotional grammar is surprisingly affecting.
Jeannette Catsoulis
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. May 20, 2009 | Rating: 2/6 | Full Review…
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.
David Fear
Old workhorse Yamada delivers the solar plexus emotional hit of a tragic telegram with precision that shows a lifetime's practice, turning Hallmarkisms sublime. May 19, 2009 | Full Review…
Old workhorse Yamada delivers the solar plexus emotional hit of a tragic telegram with precision that shows a lifetime's practice, turning Hallmarkisms sublime.
Nick Pinkerton
Hits all the right spots to make you cry like chopping onions. Feb 14, 2008
Hits all the right spots to make you cry like chopping onions.
Maggie Lee
Painful though it may be, Kâbê is finely crafted and totally enjoyable. Watch Sep 8, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
Painful though it may be, Kâbê is finely crafted and totally enjoyable. Watch
Don Willmott
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. Jun 19, 2009 | Full Review…
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.
Stan Hall
[An] unpretentious, engrossing, well-nuanced and tender drama brimming with a raw and powerfully moving performance by Sayuri Yoshinaga. May 24, 2009 | Rating: 9.0/10 | Full Review…
[An] unpretentious, engrossing, well-nuanced and tender drama brimming with a raw and powerfully moving performance by Sayuri Yoshinaga.
Avi Offer
Yamada and crew almost go so far as to suggest that the Japanese had their A-bombs coming to them, if it weren't for the achingly sympathetic family at the film's core. May 21, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
Yamada and crew almost go so far as to suggest that the Japanese had their A-bombs coming to them, if it weren't for the achingly sympathetic family at the film's core.
Henry Stewart
Deeply 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. May 21, 2009 | Full Review…
Deeply 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.
Louis Proyect
This is not a story about lamenting the inevitability of time but rather of living in denial. May 20, 2009 | Full Review…
This is not a story about lamenting the inevitability of time but rather of living in denial.
Simon Abrams
Yoji Yamada is one of today's most brilliant directors. I have really enjoyed his period pieces, which have brought back fun memories of classic Samurai movies. Yamada has a subtle and quiet voice which he usually uses well. Kabei: Our Mother seemed like it came from a different director altogether. Set out like a series of memoirs, the film relied heavily on an intrusive narration and episodic structure. I never felt at ease, or intrigued, by the films pace. There were segments I enjoyed, most involving Asano, who kept his emotions in the open without making them obvious. The end was also very melodramatic, with screaming and crying forcing their way in. It was all very 'bitty', but each individual 'bit' had something to enjoy.
Super Reviewer
The Japanese classicism of Ozu is alive and well in director Yôji Yamada. Sayuri Yoshinaga's complex performance as the mother in this is simply stunning
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