The film traces a poignant encounter between 85-year-old Madame Sumire and taxi driver Koji. The overworked driver picks up Sumire, who asks to be driven from Tokyo to a nursing home in Hayama where she has chosen to spend her last days. As they travel through Tokyo, visiting places of significance to her, Sumire opens her heart and begins to share her own tragic past. Eventually, the single day’s journey brings an unexpected miracle into their lives.
A heartwarming narrative that celebrates life’s enduring joys and sorrows in the ever-evolving metropolis of Tokyo. Adapted from the Belgian-French film, Driving Madeleine, it is the 91st film from 93-year-old director Yoji Yamada who has long been a meticulous observer of the essence of life in Japan. A love letter to Tokyo, it is the director’s finest of the decade. Nominated for 9 Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film with Chieko Baisho winning for Best Actress.
The film will be preceded by an opening reception for Tokyo Taxi ticket holders featuring sushi and Japanese light refreshments.
Yoji Yamada
Cheiko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Yu Aoi, Takaya Skoda, Yuka
Japan
2025
In Japanese with English subtitles
Best Actress, Japanese Academy Awards
Book Tickets
Friday September 11
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Credits
Producer
Fusa Shunsuke
Screenwriter
Yûzô Asahara, Yoji Yamada
Cinematography
Chikamori Masashi
Editor
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Original Music
Iwasaki Taisei
Vancouver Japanese Film Festival
Experience the best in contemporary Japanese cinema with films spanning historical jidaigeki and samurai films, contemporary dramas, comedies, literary adaptations, documentaries, children’s films, and art-house fare.
Tokyo Taxi
An overworked taxi driver takes 85-year-old Madame Sumire on a final journey through Tokyo, revisiting the places that shaped her life. Yoji Yamada’s 91st film is a moving, heartwarming love letter to Tokyo, nominated for nine Japanese Academy Awards.
KAKU KAKU SHIKA JIKA fka Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Adapted from acclaimed manga artist Akiko Higashimura’s autobiographical manga is a funny and sharply observed coming-of-age story about the creative awakening of a master of manga.
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Aruku - I Walk
This meditative documentary, captures the stories of four contemporary pilgrims on the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage as they follow in the footsteps of master Kūkai, the monk who shaped Japanese Buddhism. Each is burdened, in different ways, by exhaustion, solitude, or quiet disillusionment.
How Dare You?
A bug-loving boy, a passionate classmate, and a troublemaker launch playful eco-protests against their town’s careless habits. As their missions escalate, they face real consequences in Director O’s witty, bittersweet Grand Jury Prize winner from the Toronto Japanese Film Festival.
One Last Love Letter
In 2024, Nazuna writes to the young man she secretly loved as a teenager. Her letter reaches his grieving father, revealing memories of Shinsuke, an aspiring boxer killed in the 2000 Naka-Meguro train disaster, and opening a tender exchange.
Samurai Vengeance
In Edo-era Japan, a young kabuki actor’s celebrated revenge becomes legend. When a provincial samurai investigates the truth behind the vendetta, conflicting testimonies expose hidden motives and buried secrets in this atmospheric jidaigeki mystery about rumor, performance, and myth.