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Tokyo-Ga

Play trailer Poster for Tokyo-Ga Released Apr 24, 1985 1h 32m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
German director Wim Wenders made this documentary in which he tries to explore the Tokyo that was depicted in the films of Yasujiro Ozu. When Wenders visits Tokyo for the first time, he finds a very different city, one with a booming fascination with technology that often clashes with the traditional elements of Japanese culture. Wenders also interviews Ozu's cinematographer, Yuharu Atsuta, and Chishu Ryu, an actor who frequently collaborated with Ozu.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Wonderfully absurd hero-worshiping homage to Yasujiro Ozu. Rated: B+ Mar 26, 2011 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 2/5 Aug 2, 2008 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...nonsensical... Rated: .5/4 Dec 21, 2006 Full Review Peter Canavese Groucho Reviews Wenders bops around Tokyo with the assurance of a skilled filmmaker, and emerges with an understated but certainly curious sociological postcard of '80s Tokyo. Rated: 3.5/4 May 18, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 15, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member In a fascinating observation of 1980s Tokyo, Japan, Wenders manages to present the timelessness of both Ozu's narrative themes and impact as a post-war director. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review walter m "Tokyo-Ga" is a documentary wherein Wim Wenders travels to Japan to pay his respects to the memory and films of Yasujiro Ozu, starting and ending with clips from the classic "Tokyo Story." Along the way, he sounds rather cranky in finding a Japan unlike those found in Ozu's films, not realizing that they were one person's vision and also in their own way hermetically sealed, not unlike the wax fruit Wenders is obsessed with watching being made. But that it is not to say that there is nothing of interest in "Tokyo-Ga." How could there not be when he talks to Chishu Ryu and Ozu's longtime cameraman? Otherwise, Wenders hangs out with other directors who are passing through Tokyo like Chris Marker and Werner Herzog who is on his way to Australia. The bad news is that all of Herzog's speech is in unsubtitled German. The good news is I can make out 'Star Lab' and 'Space Shuttle' which kind of makes me curious to know what he was getting up to next. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Generally dull documentary where famed German director Werner Herzog follows the path of classic director Yosujiro Ozu in Japan (where else?). Through this, he tries to feel the emotions of the famed director when he produced his films up until his death in 1963. He does this associating the with cast members of his famed movies, including "The End of Summer" from 1961. Not particularly involving story and kind of strange to boot. I feel that it just doesn't work, even though he does associate with the various cast members that made them all classics. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member i felt like wenders could've done a lot more with this :\ Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Ostensibly about Wim Wenders in search of Ozu's Tokyo, it turns out to be part documentary, part travelogue, and way too much weird hero worship. The early 80s footage of Tokyo is fascinating, but seem to belong in a different film. The actual connections to Ozu are quite heartwarming. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member While I like Wenders style I don't think it works very well here. The connections between the elements are too tenuous, and while the interview with Ozu's cinematographer says a lot about his relationship with Ozu, it is otherwise boring. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis German director Wim Wenders made this documentary in which he tries to explore the Tokyo that was depicted in the films of Yasujiro Ozu. When Wenders visits Tokyo for the first time, he finds a very different city, one with a booming fascination with technology that often clashes with the traditional elements of Japanese culture. Wenders also interviews Ozu's cinematographer, Yuharu Atsuta, and Chishu Ryu, an actor who frequently collaborated with Ozu.
Director
Wim Wenders
Producer
Chris Sievernich, Wim Wenders
Production Co
Gray City
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 24, 1985, Original
Runtime
1h 32m
Aspect Ratio
16mm