Tôkyô no eiyû

Unlike the later, lighter dramas Hiroshi Shimizu is mostly known for now in the United States, Hero of Tokyo is a rather dark melodrama. This silent film is about a widow with two children who marries a widower with a son. The husband mysteriously disappears shortly afterwards, leaving her to raise the three children as best she can. There is a lot of incident in this short movie and that is one of its biggest flaws. The plot covers fifteen years and so much happens that there is little time to linger over anything. The break neck pace combines with a series of incredible coincidences to strain the viewer's credulity. And the wafer thin characterizations and general improbability rob the movie of any emotional payoff. Some nice shots and the actors' attempts to overcome the weak script do add some interest to the movie, but not enough.