Sometimes the simplest things in life are also the most profound. Such was the philosophy of Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, who dedicated himself to examining family relationships in almost all of his 50 films. Although generational conflict is his most obsessive theme, Ozu’s scenarios shy away from melodrama to focus on mundane patterns of behaviour. And it’s in these delicately observed patterns that we recognize ourselves.
Tokyo Story follows an aging couple (played by Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama) as they come to the city and make the rounds of their now grown children. Busy with their own lives, the children have little time or patience for their parents, who are quickly packed off to hot springs in Osaka. Then the mother, Tomi, falls ill…
The world is a better place for Ozu’s quiet, contemplative compassion, and Tokyo Story is the best introduction to his work. The most celebrated film from Japan’s most poignant domestic filmmaker, and an influence on everyone from Claire Denis to Doris Dorrie and Wim Wenders, 1953’s Tokyo Story is a regular fixture in lists of the best films ever made and came in fourth in the latest iteration of Sight and Sound’s poll.
Sunday’s screening in our PANTHEON series will feature free refreshments and a short introduction by an expert in the field.
Introduced by Su-Anne Yeo, who researches and teaches in the areas of film studies, media studies, and cultural studies, with a specialization in Asian and Asian diasporic screen cultures at UBC and Emily Carr.
Presented by
Yasujirō Ozu
Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Kyōko Kagawa, Haruko Sugimura, So Yamamura
Japan
1953
In Japanese with English subtitles
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Credits
Producer
Takeshi Yamamoto
Screenwriter
Kōgo Noda, Yasujirō Ozu
Cinematography
Yūharu Atsuta
Editor
Yoshiyasu Hamamura
Original Music
Takanobu Saitō
Also in This Series
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Céline Sciamma's queer costume drama -- about a painter covertly studying a young noblewoman who refuses to sit for her portrait -- was voted 30th Greatest Film Ever Made in a 2022 poll, the highest ranking film of the past decade.
I Am Cuba
Infused with a palpable love for the country and a righteous anger at the injustices of the Batista era, I Am Cuba features some of the jaw-dropping camerawork ever filmed. A euphoric celebration of Cuba, the Revolution, and revolutionary cinema.
The Colour of Pomegranates + The House Is Black
This month's Pantheon screening is a double-bill, Sergei Parajanov's extraordinary evocation of the life and work of C18th Armenian poet Sayat Nova, and, The House is Black (22 min), the only film directed by the great Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad.
Fantasia
Walt Disney pushed the boundaries of animation and sound recording when he put together a movie concert: eight classical pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Stravinski et al, each animated in a different style. It's playful, sometimes cute, other times inspired.
Image: © Disney, 1940