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Tokyo Sonata [Masters of Cinema] [DVD] [2008]

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Tokyo Sonata [Masters of Cinema] [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Kiyoshi Kurosawa

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

Directors: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Format: PAL, Widescreen
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 12
Studio: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
DVD Release Date: 22 Jun 2009
Run Time: 119 minutes

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

ASIN: B001R02A5A
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,122 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Product Description

The latest film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa the hugely acclaimed Japanese director famous for his groundbreaking, existential horror films such as Cure and Kairo [Pulse] set Cannes alight this year with a surprising change of pace to, that staple of Japanese cinema, the family drama. When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his safe company job, his family's happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the loyal salaryman decides not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie with briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless. Outstanding performances; serene, elegant direction; and Kurosawa's trademark chills are evident as he ratchets up the unsettling atmosphere and the grim hopelessness of Sasaki's unemployment. In today s economically uncertain times, this highly topical film an eerie, poignant reflection on the mass uncertainty sweeping the world is widely regarded as Kurosawa s finest achievement and was the only Japanese film to receive an award at the Cannes Film Festival 2008 (Jury Prize winner of Un Certain Regard). Extras and Special Features to be announced

Synopsis

Best known in the United States for bizarre and unsettling horror films like PULSE and CURE, Kiyoshi Kurosawa ventures away from that category with TOKYO SONATA. Of course, Kurosawa is incapable of directing a straightforward picture, and TOKYO SONATA is no exception. Retaining the same masterful control over mood and atmosphere that he has displayed throughout his career, Kurosawa infuses this family drama with an underlying tension that permeates the film even during its most humorous moments.
The story concerns a Japanese businessman, husband, and father of two, who unexpectedly loses his job. Unable to break the news to his devoted wife, he dresses up every morning and pretends to go to work, instead wasting the days away with a former classmate who is also unemployed. Although they aren't aware of his contradictory behaviour, his family begins to disobey him nonetheless. His teenage son enlists in the Army in order to fight for the United States, while his adolescent son goes behind his back to take piano lessons. The longer his charade goes on, the less control he has as patriarch, creating an even deeper divide between him and his family.
With TOKYO SONATA, Kurosawa has produced one of his most original and accomplished works. Equal parts social commentary and situational comedy, Kurosawa's film also feels like a thriller, thanks to the exceptionally atmospheric work from cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa and composer Kazumasa Hashimoto.

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3 Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Movie!, 5 Jul 2009

By	A. CHIASSON "AlexC" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa has succeeded as did Chaplin some seventy odd years earlier with Modern Times and De Sica with Bicycle Thieves some time later. What struck me was the stark realism of this film's portrayal of unemployment: the denial, the despair, the degradation, the long line-ups, the lying and the abuse. Also, the actors - especially the one who portrayed the youngest son - were all first rate. I encourage anyone interested in serious cinema to buy this product! MoC, you've done it again!

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet, slow moving, beautiful, like the sonata, 27 Jul 2009

By	Ruth Ludlam "princess_zelda" (Bracknell, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am buying this because I saw it at the cinema a few months ago, and haven't been able to get it out of my head since. I've seen other films by this director, who until now specialized in suspenseful, eerie "horror" films (although they were more unsettling really). This film has some of the same atmosphere of oppression, as the main character loses his job, and with it, his hope and his semblance of a normal life. The parody of a life that he leads to try to pretend everything is ok, has moments of wonderful humour amidst the oppressive hopelessness, especially when he meets someone else in the same situation.

Slowly, Ryuhei's life and those of his family unravel and reach breaking point. And around them, others in a similar position give up and succumb to fate. But throughout the rather depressing main plot, it is the little things that offer relief - moments of humour, a tiny bit of hope, and piano lessons. Somehow, the characters carry on. And then, things take a bizarre twist, when a similarly hopeless thief turns up.

This reminds me of the director's earlier film "Kourei", which, whilst being a ghost story, somehow spends more time reflecting on the relationship of a quiet middle-aged couple, as they come to accept that the dreams of their youth will never now come true. In this film, the couple are the central figures, who must both separately go off and find themselves by undertaking a journey that takes them far beyond their normal life. And the director draws the film to a close with the youngest son playing the piano, we are finally able to hear him for ourselves, and it seems to underline the conclusion to the film.

I highly recommend this film. But it is very understated, there is very little high drama, and all the tension is under the surface, in a way that is very Japanese.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A slowly sinking ship, 6 Oct 2009

By	technoguy "jack" (Rugby) - See all my reviews

A film of such excellence that it is hard to put it into words.That if you do it will be erased.This is the
film as a form of music,using discordant layers and unsettling cinematography to arrive at un underlying harmony in the universe.All the characters are on a sinking ship and the lifeboats are gone..we know its hopeless,yet still we are looking for an exit.I think the use of framing devices of windows,doorways,stairways, bridges and flyovers creates a sense of unease and suggestiveness.There are many multiple movements that form a whole yet each remains distinct.We are in a world of predictable routines of such constraint that the director utilizes surrealistic distortions and narrative release to attain a sense of renewal.For such depressing material of redundancy and family dysfunction we get a sense of hope through questioning social roles that petrify our impulses.Megumi the housewife and family homemaker says in a half-sleep:" someone,please help me up".Later the locksmith turned thief(Yakusho)kidnaps her ,forcing her to drive him to the coast where they see a light over the sea.I think it's meant to be kind of a metaphor for how the mother possesses the strength of will to not give up. She hasn't lost hope in life whereas the burglar clearly has. This scene & the one following, where she sees the light hanging above the sea, are hard to make sense of on any level other than a metaphorical/allegorical one. Kurosawa clearly isn't interested in explaining it away as an airliner or a ship or whatever. Even the scene where she's staggering - zombie-like - along the beach & the her face suddenly begins to glow has that same aspect to it. Yes, on one level of course it's just the sun coming up, but the way it's staged gives the shot that same quality.The dvd has 2 discsone with extras interviewing the cast,the making of the film,trailers,the Cannes celebration.The film is aexcellent translation into a print of sepia quality and somber colours.A modern Antonionni crossed with Ozu.

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