Minna no ie

All About Our House, also known as Everyone's House, is a Japanese contemporary comedy directed by Koki Mitani that tells the trouble into which a posh young couple puts to after they decide to built a western-style house and, and instead of commissioning the building to the wife's father -a traditional builder and carpenter- they entrust the project to a modern Westernised interior designer and unlicensed architect.

This is a subtle comedy that shows with charm and insight the social and personal dysfunctions that Japanese families find when there is a generational and cultural crash. The movie reflects about a reality, the struggle of Japanese to integrate western ways -very popular about young people- and the traditional Japanese ways of seeing the world by the old generation. The food scenes and food play an important role in the film, and appear as a bridge of communication between generations, and something that serves to amalgamate their differences.

The main roles are played by Naoki Tanaka (as Naosuke, the husband), Akiko Yagi (as Tamiko, the wife), Toshiaki Karasawa (as Mr. Yanagisawa, the interior designer) and Kunie Tanaka (Tamiko's father. All of them are terrific in their respective roles, but Naoki Takana and Kunie Tanaka shine as the funny husband and the strict serious but good-hearted father, respectively.

The movie, however, has an uneven tone as the first part of it is mostly a light comedy, while the second is more of a drama, much more serious and philosophical. I missed a little bit of equilibrium and fusion of both genres to get a rounder film. Said this, this is a delicious film that shows with humor the issues affecting inter-generational relations in modern Japan, very far from Manga, Geishas and other stereotypes of the Japanese culture in the West.