Bukunchi - My House is a film by one of the foremost directors of the 90s Japanese independent movement, Junji Sakamoto. It is a bitter-sweet film about two brothers fighting against the strange world, with humor and wit as their sword. A 7-year-old boy Nita and his elder brother Ita live in a harsh little fishing village. Their mother, who abandoned them, returns one day with an elder ‘sister.’ The mother soon leaves the house again, but this time after having sold the house. Homeless, the two brothers and their new sister struggle to adjust to their environment. But the truth is, there are a number of ‘abandoned’ people appearing through out the film. Excluded from happiness, these individuals sometimes act as clowns and sometimes as cold-blooded money-hungry individuals in order to achieve some form of happiness. Although the tale is a one filled with humor, it is hard to laugh aloud to the tragic tale, for the children’s humor and wit are strategies of survival. Director Junji Sakamoto depicts circumstances when laughter leaks through moans, telling his tale of sadness in a round about way. (Kang So-won)