Aging couple Tomi and Sukichi leave their rural village to visit their grown children in bustling post-war Tokyo. But most of their offspring are too busy with their lives and disperse the elderly parents to separate locations. Tokyo Story is representative of Ozu’s work, with its depiction of the decline of the extended Japanese middle-class family, inter-generational tensions, and the distinctive composition, subtle camerawork and performances that mark the director’s style. Voted one of the three greatest films of all time in a 1992 Sight and Sound critics’ poll.
REVIEWS
"The already towering reputation of this film and its director continues only to grow *****" The Guardian
"Often topping lists of the best films of all time, and a great influence on many great directors of the last half century, not least for its purity of expression, this remains one of the most approachable and moving of all cinema’s masterpieces.*****" Time Out
"It works on so many levels and in such universal ways - the generation gap, conflicts of work, friends and family, aging, inevitable loneliness, and on and on. It's a heartbreaking film." Eye For Film