Tokyo Story

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I finally saw this film after Site & Sound Magazine rated it as the third greatest film ever made in their once-a-decade list. Far from being in the pantheon of greatest films, I found it to be a ploddingly dull movie that made some fairly obvious points about the weakening of the parent/child relationship as the parents settle into old age. The movie is definitely not without its fine points. The acting is generally excellent and the last half hour becomes increasingly interesting after the first brutally slow-paced opening hour and forty-five minutes. It's entirely possible that if Site & Sound hadn't placed this film on such a high pedestal, I might have enjoyed it more than I did. But then again, if they hadn't have rated it so highly, I might have never seen it at all. In the final analysis, "Tokyo Story" is worth a look but if you're expecting to see one of the greatest films ever made, be ready to be disappointed.

Greetings from Lithuania. "Tokyo Story" (1953) is an ageless story about family, love and realizing of true values in life. This is a sad but at the same time inspiring story - but enough about stories - this movie shows life as it is - still. I loved the performances in this movie by simply everyone involved, as well as great directing and amazing writing. Although the movie is 2 h 15 min long and its a black and white "old" movie don't be fooled - this is a great movie that makes you think about your life and especially the people you love and that you have to love them while their are still here with you, because life is very short and better make most of it with the people you love. Great movie.

This is a marvelous movie with exceptional acting throughout. However, it is also INCREDIBLY bleak and sad, so be forewarned!!! The story begins with an older Japanese couple (grandma and grandpa) packing to go to Tokyo to see their grown son, daughter and daughter-in-law (whose husband, their 2nd son, was killed in the war). However, despite their letting everyone know they were coming, they are treated as inconveniences. The only one who showed them any consideration was the daughter-in-law. Particularly disgusting was their daughter, who ALWAYS told her husband to spend LESS on her parents, as they wouldn't know any better. Lovely kids, huh?! Anyways, after spending their time in Tokyo, they return to their hometown and grandma becomes deathly ill. You can probably guess where this is going. Despite all this, the grandparents continually say they've got good kids, even though they seem like selfish jerks.

Disclaimer: my ratings are purely personal and is only indicative on my subjective enjoyment of the film. (Even then, or perhaps even more so, I know I'm gonna be bashed for this.) Even if this 1953 greatly-hailed-classic was not black & white, I would have found it too slow to be enjoyable. The story is simple. An aged couple visits their children in Tokyo, and then heads home. Through the narrative, the film contrasts the filial impiety of the couple's biological children with the compassion of the couple's non-blood-related, widowed daughter-in-law. Critics rave about the cinematography. I know nuts about these things so I shall reveal my ignorance no more. What was perhaps a bit more accessible was the layered richness of the film's portrayal of Japanese culture, which is often non-verbal, indirect and subtle. (The emphasis here is a bit; I would have been lost without the readings to analyze the film's non-explicit elements because of the high-context nature of the Japanese society.) Suffice to say that the film was only bearable because of the readings, which I did concurrently while watching the film; they explained the film's richness that gave it its 99/100 IMDb critic review.

Labelling something 'the best ever' or even a more moderated 'one of the best...' is surely asking for trouble? But in the case of TOKYO STORY it would be difficult to imagine the film causing any kind of trouble at all as this very measured, courteous movie is such an inoffensive and charming offering. However it's not, in my view, anything remotely like 'the best ever'. It's a nice little film, in it's way, but I do wonder why on earth it has developed such a huge reputation? It's sad, it's endearing, it's sometimes rather beautiful and it's melancholic almost throughout, but it's also very predictable;nothing remotely unexpected happens, one can see things being flagged up well in advance. It's very slow and made in a very tightly confined way which hasn't really influenced subsequent movies half as much as some people would like to think.So what makes it considered "one of the best"? It's not the story which is spare and not very entertaining in itself,although the character development is good. We do get to know the people involved even if many a motive seems to remain mysterious at the end. It's not the camera work which is rigidly static, creating the impression of interlinked paintings through which the protagonists wander, rather carefully. The familiar Ozu stylisations; the low set camera, the unfamiliar looks almost straight-to-camera when speaking, make it a slightly unsettling film to watch initially, although one soon becomes used to them. Perhaps it's the location work, which is appealing,in a reserved and understated way? Japan in the mid 50s seems far more exotic and unfamiliar than it would today , but that's true of almost any developed country. Twenty first century England no longer resembles the country depicted in Ealing Comedies of the same era. And the acting is a conundrum. Cultural differences in speech patterns and body language make it hard to compare what we see here with what we are familiar with in the western world. Certainly the father-figure seems to move and speak in such a painfully slow and deliberate way (except when drunk!) that one really begins to wonder how naturalistic his acting is. Are we seeing something comparable to Brando's 'method' or to Olivier's Shakespearian style? I think one needs to be very familiar with Japanese language and culture to fully understand and appreciate that aspect. He's a nice old boy but he might well be a terrible actor. It's certainly not the music that makes this film special as it's neither evocative nor memorable, so I'm at a loss. CITIZEN KANE, which often shares this most elevated of critical pedestals with TOKYO STORY, clearly has cast a much longer shadow over the development of cinema and while it's chock-full of innovative moments and methods TOKYO STORY seems rather a stylistic cul- de-sac from which one can find very little in subsequent movies. It's not a bad movie, but it is one which I'd fine it hard to sit through a second time.

Strengths: + A really heartbreaking story about an elderly couple, and their children & grandchildren who don't really care about them. + The whole film has a powerful bittersweet mood. If you are into that sort of thing, you will love it. + The grandparents are very cute and nice people. You just want them to be your grandparents. + Unique cinematography. The camera is always at a low height, and almost never moves. It feels like you are there with the characters, sitting in the next room on a tatami. Weaknesses: This is not a great drama...there is not enough conflict, character development, dialogues, and even less turns in the story. I didn't find the characters layered. What you see from them in the first 20-30 minutes of the movie is pretty much what will get form them later on. It becomes kinda predictable. The cinematography is unique, and interesting at first (just ask any film snob), but its not enough to carry a movie. This is not 2001: A Space Odyssey. Conclusion: Ask any snob, they will tell you, this is one of the best films ever. Its not only touching, deep and well made, but its also Japanese, more than 50 years old, black-n-white, sloooow, and not popular with the masses, because apparently, these things count as positive. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Japanese (Kurosawa), slow (Stalker, 2001) movies, or movies that are confined to a few interior places (12 Angry Men). And I think this is a very good movie. It just doesn't have enough content other than its mood, to hold up as well as some other old classics. Still, I say, give it a watch. But I warn you, this is minimalist cinema. 7/10