Tokyo Towers: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad

Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.

Cast

Joe Odagiri

as Masaya Nakagawa

Kirin Kiki

as Eiko Nakagawa

Yayako Uchida

as Eiko (young)

Takako Matsu

as Mizue

Kaoru Kobayashi

as Oton

Satoshi Tomiura

as Masaya (teen)

Shohei Tanaka

Kanato Tanihata

as Masaya (child)

Misako Watanabe

Sumie Sasaki

Reviews

Similar Movies

Rashomon

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

⭐ 8.1

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

⭐ 7.0

The Third Murder

A lawyer tasked with defending a robbery-and-murder suspect begins developing doubts about what truly happened.

⭐ 6.6

Dolls

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

⭐ 7.6

Babel

Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.

⭐ 7.2

March Comes In Like a Lion

Rei Kiriyama is a 17-years-old shogi (Japanese chess) player. He debuted as a professional shogi player when he was in middle school. He lives by himself in Tokyo, because his parents and younger sister died in an traffic accident when he was little. One day, Rei Kiriyama meets three sisters who are his neighbors. The three sisters are Akari Kawamoto, Hinata Kawamoto and Momo Kawamoto. This is his first meeting with someone outside of the shogi world in many years. Having meals with the Kawamoto family brings warm feelings to Rei Kiriyama. As Rei Kiriyama continues his shogi career, his interactions with his neighbors allows him to grow as a shogi player and as a person.

⭐ 7.0

Suicide Forest Village

One day a mysterious box arrived and a curse began to spread all over. The source of the box is 'Jukai Village'. The village is hidden in Jukai Forest, a suicide spot that once you enter it, you can never come out.

⭐ 6.5

Tokyo Ghoul

A Tokyo college student is attacked by a ghoul, a super-powered human who feeds on human flesh. He survives, but has become part ghoul and becomes a fugitive on the run.

⭐ 7.1

Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

⭐ 8.5

Castle of Sand

A bruised and battered corpse in Shibuya, Tokyo has the attention of the local cops. A veteran detective is assigned to the case. The last utterance of the victim is one clue that detective Imanishi has to work on. Yet, the case becomes more tangled quickly. Elsewhere, a prodigy named Waga Eiryo is composing an orchestral piece. Remake of The Castle of Sand (1974).

⭐ 8.7

Nobody Knows

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

⭐ 8.0

Adult Drop

Hajime asks his friend Yoshi to set him up with his classmate Ann. Yoshi tries to do this for Hajime, but this just upsets Ann. Yoshi's relationship with Ann is now awkward. Yoshi doesn't know exactly why, but Ann becomes absent from school frequently. One day, during their summer vacation, Yoshi hears that Ann has dropped out of school.

⭐ 7.5

Dawn of the Felines

A story of three escort girls living in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. They work at the same escort service while feeling lonely in their urban lives.

⭐ 5.9

The Anthem of the Heart

Jun is a girl whose words have been sealed away so that she cannot hurt anyone with them. But, one day, she is nominated to become an executive member of the "community outreach council." On top of that, Jun is also appointed to play the main lead in their musical...

⭐ 7.6

Izo

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.

⭐ 6.1

Violent Cop

A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in drug pushing and Yakuza activities.

⭐ 7.2

Before We Vanish

Narumi is on bad terms with her husband, Shinji, when, one day, Shinji goes missing. He comes back a couple of days later, but he seems like a totally different person, and he is now gentle and tender. He goes for a walk every day. Meanwhile, journalist Sakurai covers the story of a family that was brutally murdered, when an unexplained phenomenon takes place. Shinji Kase tells his wife that he came to Earth to invade.

⭐ 6.5

Tokyo Godfathers

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

⭐ 7.9

Always - Sunset on Third Street

Teenage Mutsuko comes to Tokyo for work but ends up at a repair shop. She befriends the owner's family. Neighbors Hiromi, writer Chagawa with admirer Junnosuke strive alongside them in postwar Tokyo's evolution.

⭐ 7.6

Ring 0

Taking place thirty years before the events of Ringu, Ringu 0 provides the shocking background story of how the girl on the video became a deadly, vengeful spirit.

⭐ 6.1