Tôkyô boshoku (Tokyo Twilight) (1957)

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  September 19, 2011

  kiriyamakazou

  My second viewing of Tokyo Twilight was on the big screen. I loved it before, now I adore it. The second time allows you to appreciate the film even more, as the pacing is better when you know where it's going. The film focuses on the ever dependable Chishu Ryu. He has raised his... read more two daughters after his wife up and left. His eldest daughter is in an abusive relationship. The youngest has an unexpected pregnancy. And his wife has recently returned to Tokyo. This unexpected return really messes with the youngest daughter who can't accept being an abandoned child. Even when dealing with heartbreaking situations Ozu usually finds some optimism in his stories. Tokyo Twilight is a lot darker. As the title would suggest, it teeters between lightness and darkness, but will eventually become night. Abusive marriages, unexpected pregnancies, family members returning. It's a recipe for great drama and in Ozu's careful fingers, he doesn't descend into melodrama. The film begins with Ryu as the protagonist, but it gradually moves towards the youngest daughter before going to Setsuko Hara. These changes keep the film interesting and allow all the plot elements to come together. His shots are sparse and focused. The music is light but aids each scene. As one woman stares at a child after a difficult decision, it's obvious to know exactly how she feels without any words being spoken, it's great cinema.

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  May 3, 2009

  sanjurosamurai

  truly a beautiful film. the film is so simple that the same material in the hands of most any other director might have seemed pointless, dull, and without direction. in the hands of ozu it was profound, engaging, and more true to life than most other films ever made. this is ... read moreozu's gift, no bells and whistles, no fancy effects or rediculous melodrama, just real life on film that almost anyone can relate to. this was ozu's most criticised film upon its release because of the difficult themes of depression, suicide, and abortion, but the people are so genuine that i couldnt help but feel effected. some of the regular ozu cast members return and ryu specifically is becoming one of my favorites. a great film.

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  March 8, 2008

  gator681

  [font=Century Gothic]In "Tokyo Twilight," Shukichi Sugiyama(Chishu Ryu) is a bank auditor who lives with his younger daughter, Akiko(Ineko Arima). Joining them on at least a temporary basis is his older daughter, Takato(Setsuko Hara), with her two year old daughter, Michiko. Ta... read morekato left her husband, Numata(Kinzo Shin), a translator, because of his heavy drinking. Her father promises to have a word with him over her objections. Akiko has problems, too, asking her aunt to borrow 5,000 yen, causing her father and aunt to start thinking about possible matches for her.[/font]
  [font=Century Gothic][/font]
  [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, "Tokyo Twlight" is a powerful and heartbreaking tale that is partially set on the seedier side of Tokyo populated by bars, nightclubs and mahjong parlors. Even the air is occasionally difficult to breathe there. While telling an emotionally resonant story on the surface, beneath it acts as a social critique of society and a warning to parents but it is not dated in any way as it references subjects that are not usually explored in movies 50 years later. Even though I do not agree with its conclusions, I can still think of many reasons to recommend this very fine movie.[/font]

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  December 5, 2011

  fb33703014

  A fairly dark story for Ozu, but you know what? I think that shows Ozu can do just a little different than what everyone expects of him. The ingredients of this stuff isn't just melodrama, it's soap opera - disappointed father, absentee mother, an abortion, and a closed off you... read moreng woman who doesn't know what to do with herself, certainly not around the deadbat man in her life. But it's how Ozu goes about - I felt deeply for this family since it builds from a place that just feels real - and awkward in its reality. I think in many of Ozu's films the kind of nice-ness people have to one another (I don't know if this is just in Japan or just elsewhere) is a cover for what they really think and feel. A lot of what is in the early parts of Ozu films are mundane, just pleasantries, making tea, talking some minor gossip or 'how was your day' stuff. But then it goes into some areas that are much darker, or just can't be seen by the surface of the rituals of Japanese familial ties and relations. And in this film Ozu really made it a point that this family is torn by secrets and lies, and it's so under the surface that it becomes palpable. And there's a noirish quality here that works interestingly, as the sister Akika stews away with her secret in a bar, and doesn't even know the bigger secret about her birthright (and a tinny song Ozu plays often in the film, even in the most tragic scenes, adds a whole other level of the familiar but sadness). I was touched by Tokyo Twilight, and it wasn't a sudden effect - it came over me gradually, like an old friend coming by and then finding out through a long and staggering conversation what hard times there have been. It's tragedy in full dimensions
  
  Oh, and why is this NC-17? You kidding?

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  August 16, 2007

  columbiatch

  The darkest Ozu that I've seen, and no doubt his most pessimistic film on the disintegration of the family. This family comprises of the aging father with his two grownup daughters, one married and has a daughter, the other pregnant from a dead end relationship with an irrespons... read moreible boyfriend. The arrival of their long lost mother who had abandoned them sends shockwaves through the already broken family. Also unlike his other films, Tokyo Twilight is set in the winter and most scenes takes place at night. The rough, dark wintry nights suit the film quite well. The film's weakness is that the mother, who is such an important character in the story, could have been fleshed out better. The film also lacks the restraint of Ozu's best films like Late Spring or Tokyo Story. Nontheless everything that happens in the story is believable and emotionally devastating. Ozu proves that he can make films as bleak and depressing as Bergman can.
  
  P.S: Man, that Ozu sure has an unhealthy fetish for trains.

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  July 5, 2007

  thrusz

  Keeping in mind that this movie has Ozu pacing as well, this is a fantastic movie that just takes a while to get started. It's a bit confusing who is the central character in this piece, but that's a small problem on the grand scale of things.

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• Ineko Arima as Akiko Sugiyama
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