Tôkyô monogatari (1953)

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:

Selfishness | Elderly | Loss Of Mother | Railway Station | School Uniform

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).

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shijie (2004)

A Classic

It was only last week that i saw this film for the first time, and i instantly loved it. It perfectly sums up the feelings from post war Japan, and the loss of values the community had to deal with. Our sympathies are instantly placed with the older generation, who are symbolic of the traditional values, while we see the younger generation as selfish, and too busy to spend time with their parents. We have a backward view of change and progress not necessarilly being so

Ozu shot the film from a waist height viewpoint, which to the traditional Japanese viewer respresents the view of someone below eye level sitting on a mat. This was the pose of the onlooker, and this constantly reminds us that the film is under the gaze, and we should take note. Like traditional Japanese cinema the camera does not move. Panning is replaced by clever cutting, and the mis-en-scene is very artistic. Using the foreground and background very cleverly to show film as an art in its purest form.