Ozu's Tokyo Story

Cambridge Film Handbooks

by David Desser (Editor)

Ozu's Tokyo Story is generally regarded as one of the finest films ever made. Universal in its appeal, it is also considered to be "particularly Japanese." Exploring its universality and cultural specificity, this collection of specially commissioned essays demonstrates the multiple planes on which the film can be appreciated. Among the topics discussed are Ozu's relationship to aspects of Japanese tradition, situating the film within artistic modes, religious systems and beliefs, and socio-cultural and familial formations; and an analysis of how Ozu has been misunderstood in Western criticism.

Genres: Film, Japan, Nonfiction

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tokyo Story is Yasujiro Ozu classic 1953 film of two elderly parents visiting the big city only to poignantly find that their now adult children have little time for them. This entry in the Cambridge Film Handbooks series, edited by David Desser, offers us five essays (after Desser’s own introduction) by various scholars examining Ozu’s work.

Arthur Nolleti describes Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow, a 1930s American film that inspired Ozu’s co-writer on the Tokyo Story screenplay, and he compares and contrasts the American and Japanese treatments of a similar story. Darrell William Davies’ "Ozu’s Mother" is rather deceptively titled, for while he does discuss the filmmaker’s relationship to his own mother and Japanese family dynamics, he gives a great deal of background about Tokyo in terms of history and sociology. Linda C. Ehrlich sets Ozu’s story of the two elderly parents making their way to Tokyo in the context of traditional Japanese depictions of journeys. Kathe Geist writes on Buddhism in Tokyo Story. Finally, Hasumi Shigehiko’s contribution looks at the weather in Ozu’s films (and not just Tokyo Story). That might seem an odd choice of topic, but Ozu was an odd filmmaker in depicting Japan mainly as a sweltering hot, sunny setting when the country in fact has a harsh rainy season and winter.

Tokyo Story is a world classic because its plot and storytelling have such universal appeal. Yet, the film is imbued with an aesthetic and cultural references that are typically Japanese, and one’s appreciation of the film only grows by recognizing them. So, while not everything here is of equal interest, overall this volume is worthwhile for those who have seen Tokyo Story and want to know more about it.

[Frank Marzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several essays, explaining the film from different perspectives. There are also some "contemporary" reviews (circa 1970), so we get an idea of how film critics approached TOKYO STORY when seeing it for the first time.

Ozu is criminally underrated in the West, so a scholarly treatment of his best film is long overdue.