Tôkyô monogatari (1953)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (writer)
Yasujiro Ozu (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city; but the children have little time for them.

Plot Keywords:

Elderly | Selfishness | Father In Law Son In Law Relationship | Nagoya Japan | Maid

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Chishû Ryû	...	Shukishi Hirayama
Chieko Higashiyama	...	Tomi Hirayama
Setsuko Hara	...	Noriko Hirayama
Haruko Sugimura	...	Shige Kaneko
Sô Yamamura	...	Koichi Hirayama
Kuniko Miyake	...	Fumiko Hirayama - his wife
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Kyoko Hirayama
Eijirô Tôno	...	Sanpei Numata
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Kurazo Kaneko
Shirô Osaka	...	Keiso Hirayama
Hisao Toake	...	Osamu Hattori
Teruko Nagaoka	...	Yone Hattori
Mutsuko Sakura	...	Patron of the Oden Restaurant
Toyo Takahashi	...	Shukichi Hirayama's Neighbor (as Toyoko Takahashi)
Tôru Abe	...	Train employee

Also Known As:

Tokyo Story (USA)

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Hong Kong:I | Sweden:Btl | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:S | UK:U | Spain:T | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Atami, Shizuoka, Japan

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Trivia:

Voted #7 in Total Film's 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time list (November 2005).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The "dead" mother is visibly breathing.

Quotes:

Kyoko: Isn't life disappointing?
Noriko: [smiles] Yes, it is.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ikite wa mita keredo - Ozu Yasujirô den (1983)

The excuses we make to justify our neglect of others

An appreciation of this movie may demand some understanding of Japanese culture. The Japanese are rather reserved, and were even more reserved back in the early 1950's, when this film is set. No embracing, even of parents, children, siblings; no dramatic histrionics; even a death scene in this movie is much quieter than a Westerner might expect.

Consequently I can't really blame several reviewers here for calling this movie boring and slow-paced. But it is not at all slow-paced from a different cultural perspective. It just depends on what you're used to.

If you do take the time to watch and try to understand it, you'll find an engrossing analysis of the dynamic of a middle-class family, the rift that grows up between generations, and of the many excuses we find ourselves making to justify our neglect for others, even those dearest to us. These themes are universal, but are couched in a postwar Japanese idiom, and so probably less accessible to the average Western viewer.

I have wondered awhile about a speech at the end by Noriko, the widowed daughter-in-law, in which she denies that she's such a good person (though her actions in the movie indicate otherwise). I'm still not sure I understand her motives in saying this. For the most part, however, this movie will not leave you puzzled, but it may leave you a bit wiser, and a bit more reluctant to make those excuses.