Audience Member
My first experience of "Tokyo Twilight" felt like a resounding disappointment. Having come to love the subtle, resilient charm characterizing the vast range of Ozu's later works, "Tokyo Twilight" threw down the dramatic gauntlet in a shockingly heavy way. Its dreary themes and tragic developments left me aching for a return to Ozu's more buoyant and less heightened form. Yet returning to the film a second time, I'm stunned by its smoky atmospheric qualities and back-alley noir sensibility. Duly prepared for the drama to come, I was stunned by Ozu's expert handling of material which might have felt overly lurid or even emotionally manipulative in a lesser filmmaker's hands. In its quietly despairing way, "Tokyo Twilight" paints a less pleasant albeit undeniably relevant picture of life, ever seducing us with its solemn wisdom and sad reminiscence. Although not for the new initiate to the work of Ozu, "Tokyo Twilight" stands apart as a boldly singular yet effective divergence from a style that the master would adhere to throughout the remainder of his career.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
william d
Ozu's films require patience. As per usual, Ozu slow builds Tokyo Twilight to scenes of immense dramatic power. Tokyo Story is considered his masterpiece, but I think I like this one better.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
nick s
Tokyo Story came up as the bleakest movie of Yaujiro Ozu. The way Ozu creates the environment with no hope is perfect. Theses bars in the movie, claustrophobic streets of Tokyo, hotel rooms the protagonists come by are in great sync showing the broken lives of all members of Sugiyama family. It is very intelligent and disastrous drama where everything went wrong in the family, and children are not able to get over it. Ineko Arima portrays the lost and trapped protagonist Akiko just perfectly. There is no way to forget her melancholic glance and look and reluctance to share anything with the other people, even family members. The story concerns piercing scenes of two sister's strife, their problems related to mother absence, break-ups, and unwanted pregnancy. All together, these things immerse the sisters into the situation with no exit. The performance of Ozu's frequent collaborators Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu is very impressive and different from Noriko Trilogy which made them famous in the western world. Tokyo Twilight is my favourite Ozu's feature, speaking of the way to consistently create the environment of struggle. It is pretty dark, but very strong and convincing.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This film is methodical in developing its tale of troubles for a Japanese family, which had a wife run away from her husband and two daughters when they were young, the older daughter (now grown) running away from her own unhappy marriage, and the younger daughter running with the wrong crowd and getting pregnant. Despite all these dark elements, the film is very prim and proper in its delivery, and rather quiet.
The older daughter is played reasonably well by Setsuko Hara, but she's upstaged by Ineko Arima, who plays her rebellious younger sister. The scenes with Arima frustrated by her lover's games, dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, and wondering if she was the product of an affair of her mother's are among the best in the film. It was interesting to contrast the handling of abortion by director Yasujiro Ozu with that by 'new wave' director Nagisa Oshima (Cruel Story of Youth, 1960), and the American Robert Mulligan (Love with the Proper Stranger, 1963).
The issues I had with the film all relate back to Ozu's direction. Early on in the film you'll notice actors often staring directly into the camera as they deliver their dialogue, particularly the father (Chishu Ryu). These simple shots seem dated, even for the time period. As the film progresses, it's too ponderous in many of its shots and scenes, such that it ends up being much too long at 140 minutes. Lastly, I disliked the fact that it was ultimately a morality tale. With a heavy hand, Ozu essentially tells us it's important to keep a marriage together even if it's unhappy, because one parent will not be enough. The message is dated, and his delivery lacks artistry.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
s r
A serious drama confronting taboos and Japanese culture. Certainly not as race-y as it was made out back in the day, it just took on issues like abortion and previous extramarital affairs. Expertly directed and haunting at times. Powerful music to boot.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Two sisters, who live with their father; one has run away from her husband with her child and the other has become pregnant after an affair. One day, they are astonished to find that their mother is alive and in their own town. Ozu's drama is both touching and gripping from start to end with its developments, careful stunning photography and meticulous character study and human emotions like sorrow and regret.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
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