Film: Tokyo Story
Release date: 19th July 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 136 mins
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, So Yamamura
Genre: Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Regarded by many as the finest work of maverick Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, Tokyo Story continued to display the director’s signature minimalist style, a style that was largely ignored by western audiences who favoured the samurai epics of Kurosawa over his delicate dramas.
The film opens on the image of elderly couple Shukichi and Tomi quietly packing and preparing to meet their children in Tokyo, excited and filled with pride at producing such successful offspring.
They arrive at the capital to stay with their eldest child Koichi and are greeted by his family and their eldest daughter Shige. Initially granted a warm welcome and promised many activities, it soon becomes clear that Tomi and Shukichi’s children cannot fit them into their busy lifestyles. Koichi, a paediatrician, struggles to find time away from his patients, while daughter Shige doesn’t seem interested in them at all. The only accommodating presence in Tokyo seems to be Noriko, the widow of Tomi and Shukichi’s second son. Noriko spends a lot of time with them and is as appreciative as if she was there real daughter.
During their journey home, Shukichi is taken ill and later dies. The children and Noriko visit Tomi for the funeral, once again Koichi and Shige display selfishness and disrespect towards their parents...
Yasujiro Ozu is perhaps the finest director Japan has ever produced. His stark filmmaking style is akin to that of the nouvelle vague and the Italian neo realist period. Evolving over time, Ozu’s films focus on narrative and performance, eschewing traditional Hollywood conventions in favour of bold stylistic choices such as the ‘atami shot’, a low angle camera position that the director pioneered. The ‘atami’ fixes the viewers gaze in such a way as to observe the proceedings from a kneeling position, often bringing us to the same level as his characters.
Tokyo Story is a perfect example of this wonderful craft. A film that unfolds at its own pace with a simplistic narrative, yet it’s the complexity of the characters in which Ozu and co-writer Kogo Noda place the most focus.
The narrative itself is steadfastly linear, allowing story and character to breathe. The central family are at odds with their own lives; Tomi and Shukichi are in their twilight years and only wish to be around family. They find their every attempt blighted by the hectic lifestyles of the stoic Koichi and the selfish Shige. Brief moments of heartfelt drama punctuate the film, like Shukichi lamenting the end of her life to the youngest of Koichi’s family, a sequence that highlights how often the director juxtaposes uplifting sentiment with great sorrow. Another example of this is present in one of the film’s rare light-hearted moments when Tomi meets with some old friends for a drink - the scene is bookended by bleak ruminations on death and regret.
Perhaps the films most heartbreaking moment comes when son Keizo, rarely seen or mentioned throughout the film, arrives late to the death of Shukichi - the shot of Keizo seeing his mother’s body captures perfectly the overwhelming sadness on his face. In a film about contained feelings, the impact of this scene is tangible.
Setsuko Hara is the beating heart of the film. As Noriko, she represents all that Tomi and Shukichi expect from their children but do not receive. Ironically, she is also the only one who attempts to make sense of Koichi and Shige’s selfish behaviour to faithful daughter Kyoko. It’s clear that director and camera love Hara - Ozu’s lovingly crafted shot compositions revering her delicate features. As well as Hara, the film is populated with strong performances, particularly from Cheiko Higashiyama, who impresses as the families softly spoken patriarch - his recognition of Noriko in the film’s closing moments is strangely uplifting.
Tokyo Story is a beautiful yet bittersweet portrait of regret and death. Ozu’s unassuming directorial style finds humanity in verisimilitude, his ‘atami shot’ mining raw emotion from his actors naturalist performances. A true masterpiece. KT
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