Tokyo Sonata (2008)

An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (screenplay), Max Mannix

Stars:

Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi

10 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Ryûhei Sasaki
Kyôko Koizumi	...	Megumi Sasaki
Yû Koyanagi	...	Takashi Sasaki
Kai Inowaki	...	Kenji Sasaki
Haruka Igawa	...	Kaneko-san
Kanji Tsuda	...	Kurosu
Kazuya Kojima	...	Kobayashi-san
Kôji Yakusho	...	Dorobô
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Faisal Ahmed	...	Train Conductor
Denden
Jason Gray	...	Amerika no ashigaru
Tao Tsuchiya

Storyline

An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.

---

Plot Keywords:

japanese | patriarch | japanese family | pen as microphone | bolt upright after nightmare | 

---

Taglines:

Every family has its secrets. [USA release]

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language

Details

Country:

Japan Netherlands Hong Kong

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 September 2008 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Tokyo Sonata

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,345, 15 March 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$277,315, 18 October 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Django Film, Entertainment Farm (EF), Fortissimo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Wasurenai to chikatta boku ga ita (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Claire de Lune
Composed by Claude Debussy

User Reviews

A modern day Death of a Salesman

Salary man loses his job and in order to save face lives a lie to his family by continuing to set off to work as if all was normal. Meanwhile his wife detects the changes whilst his two son's grow further away from him.

The backdrop is the 2008 Japanese recession, and throughout we see suited figures walking ghostly across the screen, some looking for jobs, others like the lead character living their own lies. The movie doesn't pull any punches in it's damming portrayal of a modern Japan, throughout we see Tokyo portrayed as confined, gritty, cold and sterile. Gone are the neon and hyper kinetics of Shubuya or the affluent Ginza, what we have are job centre queues and homeless shelter camps.

What this movie also draws light on is a sense of masculinity in the modern age. We have the sins of the father resonating throughout this movie adding to a greater sense of tragedy.

Throughout Tokyo Sonata we feel as though the tragic nature of the storyline can only head in one direction, however whereas many tragedies shows art as destruction, here we have art as saviour.

A truly touching movie, the likes of which I haven't seen in a while. The movie doesn't wallow in it's own self pity, what is shows is that all our destined paths can only be walked by us alone, no matter what ties and bonds we have made along the way.

If every movie endeavoured to convey this stark yet simple message, then I'll be for that.