Kûchû teien (Hanging Garden) (2005)

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A seemingly normal family turns out to be a hotbed of neuroses in this disquieting drama from Japanese filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda. The Kyobashis are a cheery and open-minded household where no topic of conversation is considered off-limits for their children, as evidenced one morning when teenage… More A seemingly normal family turns out to be a hotbed of neuroses in this disquieting drama from Japanese filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda. The Kyobashis are a cheery and open-minded household where no topic of conversation is considered off-limits for their children, as evidenced one morning when teenage daughter Mana (Anne Suzuki) asks her parents about the details of her conception over breakfast. When Mana learns she was the result of an assignation at an "adults only" hotel in a seedy part of town, she begins hanging out there, sometime picking up men and sometimes simply soaking up the creepy atmosphere. Her brother, Ko (Masahiro Hirota), has been having trouble in school, so his parents have hired a tutor, Mina (Sonim), to help him with his studies; however, Ko has also been having sex with his new study buddy. Father Takashi (Itsuji Itao) is also having an affair with Mina as well as another woman, while his wife, Eriko (Kyoko Koizumi), has a shocking secret that would startle even her own eccentric brood. Kuchu Teien (aka Hanging Garden) was screened in competition at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi