Tôkyô monogatari (1953)'s comments

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daisyaday

I appreciate this film more at my time of life and in my situation (widowed) than I would have just a few years ago. It moves at the pace of life.

12 years 4 months ago

EagleEye

This movie feels like a two hour visit to your grandparents.

7 years 9 months ago

I’ve been wanting to see this movie for a while now, since I keep hearing it’s one of the best movies ever made. Though, I also heard all of Ozu’s movies are really slowly paced, so I was I kept putting it off. But finally watched it. You really have to make the conscious decision that you’re going to watch the movie the whole way through no matter what, because about 10 minutes in I really wanted to change the channel because it really slowly paced. HOWEVER, it was kind of amazing how emotionally involved I was by the end of the movie. It kind of sneaks up on you. I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot after watching it, especially the relationship between the parents and daughter-in-law. I want to watch it again.

I recommend it, but only if you’re ok with a very slow paced movie. It’s a very patient movie, which is it’s strength, though can feel like a weakness at first.

7 years 9 months ago

canaan

I liked this. especially the framing of each scene and the still camera. it really conveyed a sense of stagnation on the behalf of the elderly couple whilst their children and life moved all around them.

a great film and a good reminder about the importance of family.

5 years 7 months ago

stexdo

The acting and the way they executed and edited the dialogues really made this film feel much longer than it was. The writing was very good and realistic.

9 years 8 months ago

Darkness_prevails

Amazing. Proof that the camera doesn't need to be moved and cut constantly.

12 years 11 months ago

thestuman101694

Great film. I truly enjoyed it.

11 years 1 month ago

Gershwin

Brilliant.

13 years 2 months ago

BadSmile

Very honest and down to earth, loved it!

12 years 10 months ago

Seba237

It made me remember my grandmother who always asked me what I wanted to be when I get older.
I miss her.

3 years 2 months ago

Rene Narciso

Moving. Beautiful. Sad. Truthful. Sublime.

The theme has a few similarities with Make Way for Tomorrow, another superb movie, but this one is even more of a masterpiece.

6 years 7 months ago

Dieguito

Great movie with very dense emotions..

12 years 7 months ago

TheMajor

The acting, at times, bothered me a little bit, but still, a very beautiful movie. I love it. 8/10

12 years 7 months ago

deckard.

like all of ozu's movies, this one too captures life's essence at its very core. simple, plain, unique.

but i like early summer (bakushu) much much more.

2 years 11 months ago

Siskoid

Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Story is a beautiful, quiet piece about intergenerational strife from the Japanese master, centered on elderly parents visiting their children in the big city, children who for the most part think it's a bother. Ozu is incredibly good at understatement. We might, from a dramatic standpoint, think of the children as villainous in their neglect and lack of respect, but they don't do anything we've never done to our parents (and that their kids aren't doing to them). What's more, the parents kind of take in their stride, with a vague sense of disappointment tempered by acceptance of their place in the cycle of life, never really showing irritation or even boredom. In contrast, their widowed daughter-in-law, played by the wonderful Setsuko Hara with her trademark smile, shows the most duty. She hides a secret, but like everything that's gone before and that is slowly teased through the course of the film, where resentments might hide, and behaviors might be explained, it's all again understatement. Ozu finds universal emotionality there and avoids overt melodrama. It's all so touching, and I know I've said this of every Ozu talkie I've seen, and about half the silent films, but I frequently wept, and not just at the things that hit close to home. Everything in his films is calculated, right down to the rhythmic thumping of a ceiling fan to make you feel time is running out on all our lives.

4 years 2 months ago