Director: Sho Tsukikawa
A factory owner in a small Japanese town is handed a devastating medical timeline for his young daughter, and "Dear Family" follows what he does with the years that follow.
What is Dear Family about?
Nobumasa Tsuboi runs a modest factory and has built an ordinary, steady life until a doctor tells him that his daughter Yoshimi's congenital heart condition leaves her with roughly ten years to live. Rather than accept that diagnosis as fixed, Nobumasa throws himself into a project far outside his factory's usual work, driven by the hope that something built with his own hands might change the outcome. The film moves across years rather than weeks, tracking how that single piece of news reshapes his marriage, his relationship with his other children, and the rhythm of daily life in the household. It is less a medical drama than a study of stubborn, quiet devotion, told through the practical, unglamorous work of trying to solve an impossible problem one step at a time.
Cast & crew
Yo Oizumi anchors the film as Nobumasa, playing a man whose determination shows up more in routine and repetition than in speeches, while Miho Kanno plays his wife with a steadiness that carries much of the household's emotional weight. Riko Fukumoto's performance as young Yoshimi gives the family's stakes a specific, unsentimental face rather than a symbolic one.
Context & significance
Directed by Sho Tsukikawa, the film is set in Japan and draws on the kind of real-world medical-engineering stories that occasionally surface in the news, though it is shaped here as character drama rather than documentary. Its 2024 release drew attention for treating a premise that could easily tip into melodrama with restraint instead.
Where & how to watch
"Dear Family" can be watched on K-Time with a free account login; Persian subtitles are included, so the film's dialogue is accessible to Farsi-speaking viewers even though no Persian dub is currently available for this title. K-Time's browsing and search experience is built in Farsi from the ground up, making it easy to find and queue titles like this one.