# A Family (2021 film)
**A Family** (ヤクザと家族 [The Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family), *Yakuza to Kazoku*) is a 2021 Japanese crime drama directed and written by [Michihito Fujii](https://www.edgepedia.org/michihito-fujii), following a man named Kenji Yamamoto across three periods of his life, 1999, 2005, and 2019, after he chooses the yakuza way.[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406) • [2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) It was released in Japanese theaters on January 29, 2021, distributed by Star Sands and KADOKAWA.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | ヤクザと家族 The Family (*Yakuza to Kazoku The Family*)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406) |
| Director and screenwriter | Michihito Fujii (born 1986), whose 2019 film *The Journalist* won Japan Academy Prizes including Best Picture[2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) |
| Release | January 29, 2021 (Japan); streaming on Netflix from June 18, 2021[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021) |
| Running time | 136 minutes (some listings give 135)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406) • [2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) |
| Lead cast | Go Ayano as Kenji Yamamoto, Hiroshi Tachi as boss Shibasaki Hiroshi, Machiko Ono as Yuka Kudo[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021) |
| Music | Score by Taro Iwashiro; theme song "FAMILIA" by millennium parade[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) |
| Recognition | Hayato Isomura won the New Actor Award at the 45th Japan Academy Prizes (2022)[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film spans three periods in the life of a man named Yamamoto, who chooses the yakuza way.[2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) In 1999, after his father dies of a drug overdose, the desperate Yamamoto saves the Shibasaki gang boss Hiroshi from a crisis; Shibasaki reaches out to him and the two pledge to become surrogate father and son.[6](https://cinemakadokawa.jp/product/entry-84.html) • [2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) In 2005, the short-tempered but earnest Yamamoto rises through the yakuza world amid an escalating feud with the rival Kyoyo-kai, meets a woman raised in circumstances like his own, and eventually makes a decision to protect his own "family."[6](https://cinemakadokawa.jp/product/entry-84.html) In 2019, after serving a 14-year prison term, he finds the Shibasaki gang reduced to a shadow of its former prosperity under the effects of the Anti-Organized Crime Law; he tries to leave the gang and begin a new life with the family he loves, before an incident changes everything.[6](https://cinemakadokawa.jp/product/entry-84.html)
The Anti-Organized Crime Law referenced in the story is Japan's anti-gang legislation, whose first version took effect in 1992 and whose second in 2012; the production notes describe it as having greatly weakened organized crime's covert influence over businesses and communities.[7](https://starsands.com/works/yakuzatokazoku/)
## Production
Fujii wrote the script himself and described the film as a work that portrays yakuza being excluded by a changing era from the perspective of family rather than from gang warfare.[8](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/video22/) The film reunites the production team behind *The Journalist*, which had won three major Japan Academy Prize categories including Best Picture, with producer Mitsunobu Kawamura planning and producing and the studio Star Sands producing.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA0B3K4hOGI) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) Go Ayano and Hiroshi Tachi co-starred together for the first time as the sworn father and son.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/)
The credited crew includes cinematographer Keisuke Imamura, production designer Kyoko Heya, and composer Taro Iwashiro, with producers Junko Sato, Michiaki Tsunoda, and Keizo Okamoto.[2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html) The film was rated PG12 in Japan.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/)
## Cast
- Go Ayano as Kenji Yamamoto[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406)
- Hiroshi Tachi as Shibasaki Hiroshi[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406)
- Machiko Ono as Yuka Kudo[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
- Yukiya Kitamura as Tsutomu Nakamura[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
- Hayato Ichihara as Ryuta Hosono[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
- Hayato Isomura as Tsubasa Kimura[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
- Shinobu Terajima as Aiko Kimura[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
Further cast includes Shun Sugata, Suon Kan, Ryutaro Ninomiya, Taro Suruga, Ryo Iwamatsu, Kosuke Toyohara, and Tachi's fellow veteran cast member Shinobu Terajima already listed, among others.[2](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film held an 83% Tomatometer from six professional reviews.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021) Critics read the film in different ways: Johnny Loftus of Decider wrote that while it is steeped in yakuza genre machismo, it is really a meditation on the concept of family as a basic human need, and Anthony Kao of Cinema Escapist called it the first major, internationally streamable movie to address the yakuza's waning influence.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021) Mark Schilling of The Japan Times, reviewing it in January 2021, was critical, giving it 2 out of 5 and calling its laments for the passing of old-school gangsterdom "frankly ludicrous," while acknowledging that Fujii, whose breakthrough came with the politically daring *The Journalist*, is no manipulative hack.[10](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/01/27/films/film-reviews/a-family/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021) Audience scores were higher than the critics' aggregate, with a 90% Popcornmeter figure on fewer than 50 ratings at Rotten Tomatoes and an IMDb rating of 7.1.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
At the 45th Japan Academy Prizes, held in 2022, Hayato Isomura received the New Actor Award for his performance.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/) The film screened in special programs at the Hiroshima International Film Festival 2021, with director Fujii and lead actor Go Ayano appearing as guests, and was shown internationally, including a Canadian on-demand run in June 2021 with English subtitles.[11](https://hiff.jp/2021/archives/9402/index.html) • [12](https://jccc.on.ca/film/family)
## Other films of the same title
The English title *A Family* is shared by other 2021-era films, including *Una famiglia*, a 74-minute [Burkina Faso](https://www.edgepedia.org/burkina-faso) and Italy documentary directed by Christian Carmosino Mereu about four Burkinabe students in an innovation and rural development master's program run with Roma Tre University, and a Dutch-language drama directed by Mees Peijnenburg about two teenagers during their parents' divorce.[13](https://filmitalia.org/en/film/153832/) • [14](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/a-family-review-mees-peijnenburg-follows-paradise-drifters-with-fractured-portrait-of-messy-divorce/5213907.article)
## References
1. [A Family (ヤクザと家族 The Family), Japanese Film Database](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9406)
2. [A Family, Hiroshima International Film Festival 2021](https://hiff.jp/2021/en/archives/9781/index.html)
3. [ヤクザと家族 The Family, Movie Walker/eiga.com film information](https://eiga.com/movie/93189/)
4. [A Family, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_family_2021)
5. [A Family (2021), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-family-2021)
6. [ヤクザと家族 The Family, Kadokawa Cinema Collection](https://cinemakadokawa.jp/product/entry-84.html)
7. [ヤクザと家族 The Family, Star Sands](https://starsands.com/works/yakuzatokazoku/)
8. [ヤクザと家族 The Family, KADOKAWA](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/video22/)
9. [Trailer, Cinema Today (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA0B3K4hOGI)
10. [Mark Schilling, "'A Family': This sentimental ode to yakuza life ignores reality," The Japan Times, January 27, 2021](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/01/27/films/film-reviews/a-family/)
11. [Hiroshima International Film Festival 2021 press conference](https://hiff.jp/2021/archives/9402/index.html)
12. [A Family, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre](https://jccc.on.ca/film/family)
13. [A family (Una famiglia), Filmitalia](https://filmitalia.org/en/film/153832/)
14. ["'A Family' review: Mees Peijnenburg follows 'Paradise Drifters' with fractured portrait of messy divorce," Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/a-family-review-mees-peijnenburg-follows-paradise-drifters-with-fractured-portrait-of-messy-divorce/5213907.article)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2020–2022 films › Released 2020 to 2021*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license