A Family

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A Family

2020

2h 16m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Taken in by the Yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times--From young thug to weary veteran, conveying three eras of organized crime.

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Charles Hartford

But Why Tho? A Geek Community

A Family delivers some impactful moments as it follows Kenji through the world of organized crime, and his struggle to deal with society’s approach to handling it.

Rated: 7/10

Jan 16, 2023

Full Review

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

A killer gangster epic!

Rated: 4.5/5

Oct 9, 2022

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Mark Schilling

Japan Times

The film's mawkish laments for the passing of old-school gangsterdom, killed off by stringent anti-gang laws, are frankly ludicrous.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 5, 2022

Full Review

Pieter-Jan Van Haecke

Psychocinematography

Fujii's composition is also rich in shots with more steady camerawork. In some cases, Fujii resorts to such static and dynamic moments to spice up his composition with some more artfully crafted shot-compositions...

Dec 23, 2021

Full Review

Anthony Kao

Cinema Escapist

As the first major, internationally streamable movie to address the yakuza's waning influence, A Family is a valuable addition to discourse around Japanese organized crime.

Jun 28, 2021

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Johnny Loftus

Decider

While A Family is steeped in yakuza genre machismo, Michihito Fujii's film is really a meditation on the concept of family as a basic human need.

Jun 21, 2021

Full Review

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Chiranjeevi s

The story telling in this movie is off the hook. It's unlike your usual gangster movies where it's all about body count but it depicts the more real life situation of the yakuza and how it has changed over the past 20 years. The story is seen through the eyes of Kenji Yamamoto a young man who lost his father to drug overdose gets into big trouble and how he eventually is welcomed into the yakuza and his life changes forever. The director has done exceptional work to potray the reality and no nonsense movie with an emotional gripping story that will definitely make you tear up atleast at some point in the film. It is a very intense movie and at the end of it provides you with new perspective which you wouldn't normally expect in a gangster movie. It's a definitely must watch film to all gangster movie lovers but it's more of the serious kind so be warned, don't watch it if you're looking for a happy ending.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

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william d

A Family has gangster epic pretensions but falls short. The first two thirds of the film rehash every cliche of the genre, and the final third is more sappy melodrama as the gangsters confront the yakuza's decline.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very touching film about the tragedy of life as yakuza in Japan. Not your typical Japanese yakuza film but addresses the intersection of life as yakuza and a member of civil society that increasingly views yakuza society as a dying anachronism. Honor, duty and love find it hard to co-exist.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very realistic yakuza movie with deep meaning about family, loyalty and karma. Gô Ayano acting was superb, we can feel his emotion through out the entire movie. And the Ending was excellent! If you enjoy Beat Takeshi movies, then this movie is for you.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Emotional japanese drama. Good movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

Absolutely loved this movie. It touched my soul and dropped some tears in the end. Amazing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

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Michihito Fujii

Director

Gou Ayano

Kenji Yamamoto

Hiroshi Tachi

Hiroshi Shibasaki

Machiko Ono

Yuka Kudo

Naoyuki Fernandez

Delinquent boy

Hayato Ichihara

Ryuta Hosono

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Synopsis

Taken in by the Yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times--From young thug to weary veteran, conveying three eras of organized crime.

Director: Michihito Fujii
Producer: Keizo Okamoto, Junko Sato, Michiaki Tsunoda
Screenwriter: Michihito Fujii
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 18, 2021
Runtime: 2h 16m

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