Tokyo Story (1953)
Ordinary family, timeless story.
Presentation:
Ordinary people, ordinary lives, right? Sounds like it would make for a very boring documentary. The film follows the familial relationships between 2 grandparents and their several children. Each son and daughter has their own life and personality, contrasting with each other to cover all the possible relationship variations the audience can have with their own parents. And it’s told in such an undramatic and realistic way that it’s very easy to insert yourself into the scene. The story covers their lives in such a painstakingly mundane manner, meaning that you’re going to have to wait a long time to even get to the plot. I knew it would be slow, but I didn’t think the development would be THIS slow - there’s no conflict and the plot reveals itself after maybe 90 minutes in. But this glacial development creeps up on you and you slowly begin to see these parents as your own and that’s when you finally understand why the film breaks the fourth wall so frequently. The film is speaking directly to you and before you know it, you’re a Japanese adult in the 50s dealing with geriatric problems. This intimate framing is made more powerful by contrast with the beautifully formal objective compositions throughout the rest of the film. Despite every shot being a static tripod shot, the gate weaving makes each scene full of life.
Conclusion:
This is a very slow film. It’s not as powerful as Poetry, but is still timeless for its topic. I think Koreeda is heavily influenced by Ozu and both have similar storytelling philosophies. If you’re an only child or never had a parental figure, this film will probably not speak to you at all. As I have a big family, I related to it immensely and felt compelled to text my parents after it was done. And hopefully that should be a pretty good indicator of how this film moves you.
Recommendations
Ordinary family, timeless story.