Kâbê (Kaabee) (Kabei: Our Mother) (2008)
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87% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
78% of users liked it
(726 ratings)
Veteran Japanese filmmaker Yoji Yamada's 80th feature film concerns a mother living in 1940s-era Tokyo who is forced to care for her two daughters alone after her husband is jailed for expressing reformist views on the Japanese invasion of China. Professor Shigeru Nogami (Mitsugoro Bando) is an… More Veteran Japanese filmmaker Yoji Yamada's 80th feature film concerns a mother living in 1940s-era Tokyo who is forced to care for her two daughters alone after her husband is jailed for expressing reformist views on the Japanese invasion of China. Professor Shigeru Nogami (Mitsugoro Bando) is an outspoken man with some particularly unpopular political views, and for his role in speaking out against the Japanese invasion of China he is promptly jailed. In the wake of his imprisonment, Professor Nogami's devoted wife, Kayo (aka Kabei, played by Sayuri Yoshinaga), is suddenly relegated to the status of single mother. As Kayo does the best to care for the couple's two young daughters, her stern policeman father (Umenosuke Nakamura) proves little help. Thankfully for Kayo and the two children, the people of the neighborhood are more concerned with the well-being of her family than her husband's political views. One of the professor's former students in particular, the clumsy but well-meaning Yamasaki (Tadanobu Asano), does his best to ensure that the Nogami family is properly cared for until the day his mentor can return. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Yoji Yamada
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 26, 2008 Wide
- On DVD
- Sep 8, 2009
- Studio
- Strand Releasing
Critic Reviews
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John Hartl, Seattle Times
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.
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V.A. Musetto, New York Post
For those who prefer movies of substance, there are alternatives -- and I don't mean Terminator Salvation.
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Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Enriched by Mutsuo Naganuma's velvety photography, the director's restrained emotional grammar is surprisingly affecting.
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David Fear, Time Out New York
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.
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Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
Old workhorse Yamada delivers the solar plexus emotional hit of a tragic telegram with precision that shows a lifetime's practice, turning Hallmarkisms sublime.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Mitsugoro Bando
as Shigeru Nogami
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Sayuri Yoshinaga
as Kayo
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Tadanobu Asano
as Toru Yamasaki
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Shofukutei Tsurubei
as Senkichi Fujioka
- Rei Dan
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Miku Sato
as Teruyo Nogami
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Keiko Toda
as Teruyo Nogami - Adult
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Umenosuke Nakamura
as Kayo's Father
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Mirai Shida
as Hatsuko Nogami
