Tokyo Story

I don’t expect every movie I see to be great. I’m not hoping to see the next Citizen Kane with every new movie. And most of the time, I don’t see the next Citizen Kane but rather see some decent movies, some not so decent ones and occasionally, some really outstanding ones. But every now and then, I see something, usually an older film, that is truly a great movie. Such was the case when I finally got around to watching the 1953 Japanese film Tokyo Story.

I had been thinking about Japan and Japanese culture recently. I read Laura Hillenbrand’s excellent book Unbroken which portrayed a dark moment in Japanese history, the cruel treatment of POWs during World War II. Then there was the recent earthquake and tsunami. I’ve always enjoyed Japanese movies. Akira Kurosawa is one of my favorite directors for movies like Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Ran.

Tokyo Story was directed by Yasujiro Ozu, considered one of Japan’s greatest directors. It tells the story of an old couple who decide to visit their grown children, most of whom live far away from them. (Their youngest daughter Kyoko still lives with them.) One son lives in Osaka, midway on the train journey to Tokyo. Their oldest son and oldest daughter live in Tokyo. Another son was killed during the war, but his widow Noriko keeps in contact with the family. She too lives in Tokyo.

The trip goes quite poorly. The children basically ignore the parents and treat them disrespectfully. At one point, they send the parents to a spa. The parents initially treat this as a polite gesture but their experience there is horrible. Soon, the parents themselves begin to speak of their disappointment in their children. Only Noriko treats them kindly and goes out of her way to try and make their trip pleasant. Only when the mother dies, do the children all get together to mourn her. Even then, their behavior still seems hollow and selfish.

The storytelling in Tokyo Story is remarkably understated. The camera doesn’t move and allows the viewer to watch the drama unfold without distraction. Despite the foreign setting, this story could have been set almost anywhere. The emotional impact is devastating. You get angry at the family members but can’t help but see some of yourself. The film forces you to ask how well you treat your own parents and children. Near the end of the film, the youngest daughter Kyoko says goodbye to the Noriko after the funeral. She is angry with her sibling’s selfish attitude toward their parents. How could they act like this? We expect Noriko, the most sympathetic character in the movie, to empathize. Instead, she answers her (and the viewer too, for she looks directly at the camera) with a defense of the other children. People change, she says. You may not like it but that’s what happens. We are taken aback by her response. We don’t want her to be right but unfortunately, we suspect she is.

As a Christian, I was reminded of the Fourth Commandment. “Honor your father and your mother.” It’s easy to think that this commandment only applies to children. But of course, our parents never cease to be our parents and we should always honor them. Tokyo Story is a good reminder why.