Still Walking, Japanese contemporary

Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's 2008 "Still Walking" is view of a contemporary Japanese family that addresses (or sweeps under the rug) universal issues: aging parents, the favorite child, in-laws, death, traditional meals, grown children who no longer share their parents' points of view. Beautiful, heart-breaking, and simple, the scenes gives wonderful glimpses of a Japanese household, its furniture, food, the young and youngest generations and the neighborhood. The film is very relatable for western students, yet they could pick out the elements that seem culturally Japanese. The film provides lots of content to do compare and contrast, identity, and conflict thematic discussions and writing.