For his fourth full feature, Toyoshi Toyoda has abandoned the theme of the angry young man, examined in depth in Pornostar, Blue Spring and 9 Souls. Kuchu Teien is, on the face of it, more a drama, a character study, than a typical Toyoda genre flick. Yet within this beautifully structured and photographed film, there lies a dark soul. Ostensibly the story of a happy family, it becomes increasingly clear as the movie progresses that the Kyobashis are anything but. Despite a family agreement that they are all open with each other, the entire household knows the opposite is true.

The mayor of Oita wants to improve the image of his city, so he instructs Chiaki – a young woman working for the city’s PR department – to form a female tug of war team. Nobuo MIZUTA mixes comedy, drama and a pinch of social criticism to tell a tale of eight women, their everyday struggles and their support for each other.