Yoji Yamada has had one of the longest careers in the history of film. Starting out at the Shochiku studio, where he was hired as an assistant director after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1954, he made his debut as a director seven years later with “The Strangers Upstairs.” Since then, Yamada has gone on to make close to 100 films, his latest being the family-friendly drama “Mom, Is That You?!” (He celebrated his 92nd birthday on Sept. 13.)
