The Criterion Collection

Critics have been getting acquainted with the Yokoyamas, the family at the center of Still Walking. David Ehrlich, writing for Moviefone, calls Hirokazu Kore-eda’s delicate human drama a “devastating film from a modern master at the top of his game. It’ll welcome you in and make you feel at home, buttering you up to eat your heart.” Ehrlich goes on to connect the film to the tradition of a certain other Japanese master: “Still Walking is ostensibly a tribute to the filmmaker’s recently deceased mother, but the specter that most obviously looms above this searing film—an invaluable addition to the genre of family gathering dramas—is that of exalted Japanese auteur Yasujiro Ozu.”

Paste’s Sean Gandert sees a documentary influence in the film (Kore-eda began as a nonfiction filmmaker): “Still Walking is filled with overlapping dialogue . . . with characters weaving in and out of scenes both physically and verbally, making it easy to get lost in the reality of it all.” He calls the film “a classic . . . A story of small words and gestures that mean a lot, told in a simple way that’s specific to this individual family but universal in its meanings.” And DVD Talk’s Jamie S. Rich praises the film as “emotionally honest and strongly realized.” He adds, “The cinematography is rendered in exquisite detail,” and “the Blu-ray presentation is absolutely stunning, matching the movie’s dramatic heft with pure technical skill.”