Koji dies when the atomic bomb falls on Nagasaki. He was a medical student, living with his mother, his father and brother already dead, and thinking about marriage with his girlfriend Machiko. His mother is left alone, trying to survive in the struggle after the end of the war.
"Living with My Mother" is a very touching, slow, introspective movie, typical or your late Yôji Yamada, with sparse use of camera work, long takes, and a focus on characters and their dialogues, instead of on action or fast changes of view points. The story centers on Nobuko, Koji's mother, after the end of the war, and how she tries to come to terms with what has happened in her life. Sayuri Yoshinaga does a great job of imbuing her character with life, making her feel close even if you know little of the history behind her story. Yamada does not center on pain or tears, but on the little things that make us human, and instead of telling us a story of the struggle to eat to live, he tells us the story of the struggle to understand, forgive and adapt to be able to live in an world that has changed completely.
It is a little bit slow, and some moments can be a little bit stretched, but the direction, the acting, the mood and the pace are great, and it is a movie that is worth seeing. It is a movie about humanity.
