Tokyo Story (1953)

Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Starring: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Sô Yamamura, Kuniko Miyake, Kyôko Kagawa, Shirô Ôsaka
Certificate: U
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Tokyo Story focuses on an elderly couple who visit their adult children in the Japanese capital. When the two arrive, however, nobody seems to have time for them. Both their daughter and son are too busy with their own lives and treat them as more of a burden to bear. The characters that seem the most interested in the grandparents are in fact the two who are not related to them. Fumiko (Miyake) - the wife of their oldest son - shows a caring for them whilst Noriko (Hara) - the widow of their son killed in World War Two - becomes the kindest person in their visit to Tokyo.

One of Ozu's greatest strengths is the ability to create brilliant, fully fleshed characters that feel like real people. With Tokyo Story, he achieves this to a magnificent degree. Every character feels like a plausible person with their own reasons as to why they act in the way they do. Both Ryû and Higashiyami perform flawlessly as the central couple, never revealing what they actually think due to the society of formality that 1950s Japan was. It is very rare to have an old couple as the central characters of a film - even in social realism, the focus is usually on an individual rather than a duo - which allows the film to hold a unique position in cinema.

The rest of the cast is all flawless. Sugimara portrays an arguably negative view of the modern woman who has stepped away from tradition and does so in a memorable fashion. The most up-front and honest character in the film is also perhaps the most dislikable. Kagawa is brilliant as the young idealist who has not been corrupted by the world yet. It is, of course, Hara as Noriko who stands out due to her complex and conflicted character.

Ozu uses his unique style of shooting to create a film that could be the closest to objectivity possible. The use of low shots, front on faces and lack of camera movement allow us to see the family as if we are within it, not necessarily identifying in any of the characters but rather becoming engaged in their lives.

Tokyo Story also seems to tie the two main themes of Ozu's earlier work together. The idea of modernism arriving and the resignation people must face because of it which was so prominent in There Was A Father and The Only Son is shown by the couple being left behind by their family and their disappointment of their children's lives. The ideas of family being a bond that should not be broken is also extremely prominent. Ozu does not seem to be as hopeful as he was in Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family anymore, with the same event happening in both films but with very different responses.

If you have any interest in Japanese Cinema or Social Realism in general, Tokyo Story is more than worth your time. Ozu has become legendary for his unique and thoughtful way of showing the lives of his characters and this film is known as his crowning glory. Definitely a good introduction to a truly intriguing director.

*****Brilliant