MEET THE PARENTS, TOKYO STYLE

TOKYO STORY directed by  Yasujirô Ozu (Japan,1953)

Meet the parents : Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and Tomi Hirayama (Chieko Higashiyama).

Watching a cinematic masterpiece on a laptop computer requires a degree of cultural adjustment. This disorientation is compounded by the fact that Ozu’s Tokyo Story has very little of what western audiences have come to expect from movie dramas.

There are no heroes or villains and at a superficial level nothing much happens at all.  Spare dialogue and static shots emphasise the slow pacing which gives the film a quiet, meditative quality. We learn as much about the characters from what they do rather than what they say.

Like so many great movies, the story is simplicity itself.  An elderly couple decide to make a long journey by train to visit their children and grandchildren in Tokyo only to find that they are regarded as a tiresome intrusion rather than welcomed with open arms. They are not directly snubbed; instead, their offspring go through the motions of being attentive hosts but can’t be bothered to take time out from their busy schedules.