Moira and I went to see Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film “Still Walking” at the Watershed yesterday afternoon. The Watershed’s blurb describes it as “a quiet pleasure” and I think that’s pretty accurate. It’s a lovely gentle, endearing film set over the course of a 24 hour period as a family acknowledges the 15th anniversary of the death of its adored eldest son.
Footnote: the programme notes included an interview with the director and, in it, he conceded that “it might be that I keep making movies directly after someone dies” and he went on to talk about the death of his father and mother (particularly about the “superficial” relationship he’d had with his father – “we never really had deep conversations”). Strangely, this triggered a series of memories from a really difficult time in our family’s life from 1992. Moira’s mother died in the February of that year and my father died in July; our friends Ann and Mike both died within 6 months of each other, by June (and we agreed for their 14 year-old daughter Jo to come and live with us as an extra member of our family – which she did, but only for a matter of a few months, before she went to live with her older brothers). It was difficult time for all of us…. although there was a bright spot: the birth of my brother’s twin daughters Megan+Eleanor in July (just nine days after Dad’s death).
Footnote: the programme notes included an interview with the director and, in it, he conceded that “it might be that I keep making movies directly after someone dies” and he went on to talk about the death of his father and mother (particularly about the “superficial” relationship he’d had with his father – “we never really had deep conversations”). Strangely, this triggered a series of memories from a really difficult time in our family’s life from 1992. Moira’s mother died in the February of that year and my father died in July; our friends Ann and Mike both died within 6 months of each other, by June (and we agreed for their 14 year-old daughter Jo to come and live with us as an extra member of our family – which she did, but only for a matter of a few months, before she went to live with her older brothers). It was difficult time for all of us…. although there was a bright spot: the birth of my brother’s twin daughters Megan+Eleanor in July (just nine days after Dad’s death).
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