MOTHER

MOTHER (マザー, 2020) is a Japanese drama from director Tatsushi Omori, available to watch online on iFILM. At its center sits teenage Shuhei, caught between a school he barely attends and a mother he can't bring himself to walk away from.

Akiko drinks, falls for men who use her, and sends her son to pry cash out of his disapproving grandparents instead of going to class. On top of that, Shuhei is half-raising his little sister. The film's true subject is that bond — a dependency so deep it feels physical. The boy can see exactly where this road ends and still can't cut the cord. Masami Nagasawa plays Akiko with zero self-pity, in what may be her toughest role to date.

Omori took a notorious mid-2010s Japanese court case and shaped it into something quieter than true crime: a slow tragedy of codependency with no comforting way out. Heavy and unhurried, it's for viewers ready for a drama that lingers well past the credits. Stream MOTHER (2020) online on iFILM.