This Japanese movie is amazing fun from the start to the end. For being "one of those quirky Japanese movies," it's surprisingly not as weird as I thought it would be going in. The characters are really unique, fleshed out by wonderful acting. I love all of them so much, especially the excessively jovial wife Machiko. The plot sounds complicated when writing it down, but is really easy to follow in the movie, so I'll just give you the general gist of it. Basically it's about a dysfunctional family brought back together following the death of the parents (in a hilarious car accident at the beginning of the movie), although dysfunctional is an understatement. Simuka has never forgiven her younger sister Kiyomi for a manga drawing four years ago that caused Simuka to be the laugh of the town and unsuccessful at getting a job as an actress (although it is ostensibly because she has no talent), and takes pleasure in tormenting Kiyomi. There are much more complications, but it all comes back together in a very satisfying way during the finale. I actually found the movie to end on a rather poignant, poetic note, where the sisters end up needing each other to get what they desire.There is beautiful cinematography and delicious post-production effects. The story is gripping and interesting from beginning to end, although in terms of the build-up and release, they may have ended the movie a bit too late (it lagged a bit in tying up loose ends). The music was really well-done; it was effective but not overpowering. There is a comic book animation near the end that I loved, which reminded me a bit of the Snow White thing in Annie Hall (although Funuke is not nearly as cinematically creative as a whole). The movie's idea was original, funny, and touching, and one I won't forget for a good long while. I wholeheartedly recommend it; it's like Life as a House meets The Life Aquatic in terms of family drama and bizarre comedy.
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0910888/