| TOKYO STORY (1953) : Y.Ozu : 8/10 |
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I'm embarrassed to admit that Tokyo Story is still the only film by Japanese master Ozu Yasujiro that I've so far seen. I have now seen it twice, once well over a decade ago - though whether this was on TV or in a cinema, I can't now recall. I was accurate, however, in remembering it as a fine, sensitive film by a fine, sensitive film-maker - though to rank it among the five or six greatest ever made (Sight and Sound's 2002 poll of critics puts Tokyo Story behind only Citizen Kane, Vertigo, The Rules of the Game and the first two Godfather movies) seems somewhat excessive. The story is simple: elderly couple Mr (Chishu Ryu) and Mrs (Chieko Higashiyama) Hirayama travel - via Osaka - to Tokyo from their home in far-off Onomichi, for visits with their grown-up children. They find that the hectic pace of the overcrowded capital means that their presence is more imposition than delight - although they are most impressed by the kindness and hospitality shown by their daughter-in-law Noriko (Setsuko Hara), widowed during the war. Realising that blood isn't necessarily thicker than water, the stoic Hirayamas return to Onomichi - but their happy relief at getting home proves sadly short-lived... Ozu, who co-wrote the script with Kogo Noda, has a clear-eyed view of human fallibities and foibles: the characters are either good or bad eggs from start to finish, and while the Hirayama children may be selfish to the point of solipsism, they perhaps aren't to be judged too harshly. As Mr Hirayama tells Noriko at the end of the film, it's natural for people to eventually grow apart from their parents - especially given the ever-accelerating pace of the modern world. It's also fascinating that so many key events occur off-screen - Ozu frequently cuts away to some landscape shot or other and, when we return to the Hirayama family's story, several days may have passed and crucial plot-related developments may have transpired. Ozu's direction is likewise very careful about what we're shown at every stage: his camera very seldom moves, but its placement (and the boxily intricate, multi-layered structure of Japanese houses) ensures we're always intimately conversant with the various cramped interiors which the characters inhabit. Credit should also go to production-designers Tatsuo Hamada and Itsuo Takahashi, and cinematographer Yuuharu Atsuta (future Palme d'Or winner Shoehei Imamura, meanwhile as first assistant director.) All in all, I can fully see why Tokyo Story is such a resonant film for so many, and is regarded as a great masterpiece by some. But, impressed as I was, I don't have much of an emotional reaction to the characters: interest, sympathy and compassion, yes, but - despite my own parents now both being over 70, neither currently in sparkling health - I was never exactly touched by the experience of watching the film. I realise, however, that this almost certainly says much more about me than it does about either Ozu or his work. Neil Young 6/7.Jan.08 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 東京物語 Tōkyō monogatari Japan 136m (BBFC timing) director : Ozu Yasujiro (Late Spring, Floating Weeds, Early Summer, etc) editor : Hamamura Yoshiyasu (Late Spring, Early Summer, Good Morning, etc) seen 6.Jan.08 Gateshead (Tyneside Cinema : £5.50) |
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