Still Walking

Play trailer

Still Walking

2009

1h 54m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

65 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) and Toshiko (Kirin Kiki) welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) still feels that his parents resent that he isn't the one who died; his new wife, Yukari (Yui Natsukawa), is awkwardly meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Daughter Chinami (You) strains to fill the uncomfortable pauses with forced cheer.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Hirokazu Kore-eda's film may seem modest at first, but this family drama casts a delicate, entrancing spell.

Read Critics Reviews

Trevor Johnston

Sight & Sound

Jul 6, 2018

Even in subtitled form, this is a dialogue masterclass. Sly comments and pointed asides take precedence over upfront speechifying, while revelations are subtly layered in without narrative strategies becoming unduly obvious.

Go to Full Review

Tony Rayns

Film Comment Magazine

Nov 17, 2013

There's a natural flow of small hatreds, resentments, joys, and insecurities, superbly caught by every member of the cast

Go to Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Jan 20, 2010

while this film is full of all the bitterness, regret, jealousy, disappointment, deceit and awkward love that make up any family, it depicts these with a calm restraint and subtlety, excluding even the slightest hint of melodrama

Go to Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Feb 8, 2025

Kore-Eda is marvelous with these little moments, at observing the reverberations of discomfort around the table at a family meal after a thoughtless remark or a bitter rebuke... or watching the still life of a family at rest.

Go to Full Review

Lisa Laman

Culturess

Feb 3, 2025

Still Walking crystallizes why [Kore-eda] he's so adept at navigating this thorny and raw material.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Sep 4, 2023

4/4

Kore-eda’s film is insightful, moving, perceptive, and appropriately complex in the exploration of its subject.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

PanProduction T

@ChunPan9 Apr 27, 2026

Great movie! It reminds me of Ozu’s films. It quietly reveals the poetry in the dynamics of this family. The Japanese are great at depicting family interactions. The reason may be that family is more important in Japanese culture than in Western societies, where individualism and self-reliance are emphasized.

See more

Ben W

@Username618 Mar 21, 2026

So. I remember loving, just a napkin floating through the air. But again. It's fine. But if you think about it, ... What sort of person, demands others recreate in impeccable detail, moments of their childhood? It's got to have universal appeal, right? I remember with this one, I turned off the subtitles- then was depressed with them on that people didn't like each other!

See more

Kyle M

@RT77296778 Mar 18, 2026

Minimally engages in familial medication with relatable conflicts and life affirmation as personally told with serene touches well-framed and connectively performed. (B)

See more

Dani G

@RT81139271 Aug 12, 2025

Very consistent with Koreeda's filmography, a family drama with a strong message. Simple but powerful storytelling

See more

Sam F

@Sam_Fisher May 9, 2024

All the generational tensions and often unspoken tenderness come to light in the course of a family reunion. Beautiful timing, contemplation of the most and least pleasant moments, regrets, dashed hopes and misunderstandings: "Still walking" is a perfect portrait of family pain.

See more

mradul s

@RT44427869 Feb 9, 2024

Very few films capture the truth of life's eventuality as it really is with all its boredom, tragedy, and acceptance of destiny. This is one such film.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Hirokazu Koreeda

Director

Hiroshi Abe

Ryota Yokoyama

You

Chinami Kataoka

Yoshio Harada

Kyohei Yokoyama

Ryôga Hayashi

Mutsu Kataoka

Haruko Kato

Actor

View more photos

Synopsis

Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) and Toshiko (Kirin Kiki) welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) still feels that his parents resent that he isn't the one who died; his new wife, Yukari (Yui Natsukawa), is awkwardly meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Daughter Chinami (You) strains to fill the uncomfortable pauses with forced cheer.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer: Yoshihiro Kato, Satoshi Kono, Hijiri Taguchi, Masahiro Yasuda
Screenwriter: Hirokazu Koreeda
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: IFC Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $163.5K
Runtime: 1h 54m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings