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IMDbPro

Tokyo Sonata

  • 20082008
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
Tokyo Sonata (2008)
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
Play trailer1:55
1 Video
23 Photos
  • Drama
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Kiyoshi Kurosawa(screenplay)
    • Max Mannix
    • Sachiko Tanaka(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Teruyuki Kagawa
    • Kyôko Koizumi
    • Yû Koyanagi
Top credits
  • Director
    • Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Kiyoshi Kurosawa(screenplay)
    • Max Mannix
    • Sachiko Tanaka(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Teruyuki Kagawa
    • Kyôko Koizumi
    • Yû Koyanagi
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 37User reviews
    • 127Critic reviews
    • 80Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Tokyo Sonata: Trailer
    Trailer 1:55
    Tokyo Sonata: Trailer

    Photos23

    Teruyuki Kagawa and Kiyoshi Kurosawa in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kyôko Koizumi in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Kôji Yakusho in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kyôko Koizumi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Kôji Yakusho in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, and Yû Koyanagi in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kôji Yakusho in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kôji Yakusho in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kai Inowaki in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Haruka Igawa and Kai Inowaki in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kyôko Koizumi in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Kai Inowaki in Tokyo Sonata (2008)
    Haruka Igawa in Tokyo Sonata (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Teruyuki Kagawa
    Teruyuki Kagawa
    • Ryûhei Sasakias Ryûhei Sasaki
    Kyôko Koizumi
    Kyôko Koizumi
    • Megumi Sasakias Megumi Sasaki
    Yû Koyanagi
    Yû Koyanagi
    • Takashi Sasakias Takashi Sasaki
    Kai Inowaki
    Kai Inowaki
    • Kenji Sasakias Kenji Sasaki
    Haruka Igawa
    Haruka Igawa
    • Kaneko-san The Piano Teacheras Kaneko-san The Piano Teacher
    Kanji Tsuda
    Kanji Tsuda
    • Kurosuas Kurosu
    Kazuya Kojima
    • Kobayashi-sanas Kobayashi-san
    Kôji Yakusho
    Kôji Yakusho
    • Dorobô The Robberas Dorobô The Robber
    Faisal Ahmed
    • Train Conductoras Train Conductor
    Denden
    Denden
    • Janitoras Janitor
    Jason Gray
    • Amerika no ashigaruas Amerika no ashigaru
    Hajime Inoue
    Masayuki Ito
    Kenji Kawahara
    Toshiyuki Kitami
    Kazuki Namioka
    Ayako Sugiyama
    Yûya Takagawa
    • Director
      • Kiyoshi Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Kiyoshi Kurosawa(screenplay)
      • Max Mannix
      • Sachiko Tanaka(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ryuhei goes to Hello Work to seek help finding a job. Hello Work is a Japanese government agency that tries to help people looking for employment.
    • Goofs
      Late in the movie the Mother lies on the beach allowing the ocean to wash over her. In her next scenes her clothes appear completely dry. Even allowing for the time she had to get home her clothes would still be damp and very uncomfortable to wear.
    • Quotes

      Megumi Sasaki: Screw your authority.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Forget Me Not (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Claire de Lune
      Composed by Claude Debussy

    User reviews37

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    I highly recommend this film.
    At first I thought this film would be a depressing story to watch, but I was surprised that the film was actually very uplifting. Although it's a sad story overall, it has a very powerful message if you watch it to the end, a message that will encourage you to move on even when life gets to its darkest moment.

    This story is about problems of people in Tokyo, all sorts of problems. The leader of the family lose their job and was afraid to tell his family, the elder son join American army and go to war, the younger son wants to learn the piano but the father forbids him, the wife is depressed of trying to hold the family together. The film is so delicate and beautiful. It captures the feeling of each character and the whole depressive atmosphere of Tokyo very well. The pace is slow but it's not boring because you can follow the story very easily and you can sympathize with each one of the characters. It doesn't even have any Hollywood boring formula of sentimental film. This is a real work of art.

    I'm not gonna spoil this movie. I just want to tell you to go watch this film and watch it to the end although you feel that it's getting darker and darker. For me, this is not another good movie. This is a "great" movie because after I watch it, I feel that now I can go on with my life.
    helpful•46
    10
    • khemass
    • Apr 16, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 27, 2008 (Japan)
    • Countries of origin
      • Japan
      • Netherlands
      • Hong Kong
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Tokyo sonatı
    • Filming locations
      • Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Django Film
      • Entertainment Farm (EF)
      • Fortissimo Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $278,356
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $28,345
      • Mar 15, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $943,547
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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