A review of the 1953 classic film “Tokyo Story”
When film critics worldwide are polled on the best films ever made, this Japanese work directed and co-written by the famous Yasujiro Ozu usually comes in the top batch. It is a classic art house movie: black and white, slow, minimalist, portentous and shot in a very distinctive style (lots of static, low shots and wide angle scenes inside small rooms).It is a simple tale of post-war, intergenerational relationships within a family, told in a gentle, closely-observed manner, centred on a visit to the Japanese capital by an elderly couple – who live in a rural location with one of their daughters – to see their son and the other daughter who are not exactly thrilled by the occasion. It is a quiet and oddly moving piece.