Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

Based on the manga series by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril is the fourth film of the six-part film series that follows the father-son duo as they continue their journey through Japan on their way to Hell as the former is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin while they’re in pursuit by a clan lord and his son. Directed by Buichi Saito and screenplay by Kazuo Koike, the film explores the father-son duo as they continue on their path towards Hell as the chance for vengeance would emerge as the titular characters of Ogami Itto and Daigoro are reprised by Tomisaburo Wakayama and Akihiro Tomikawa. Also starring Yoichi Hayashi, Michi Azuma, Asao Koike, Hiroshi Tanaka, and Tatsuo Endo. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril is a ravishing yet intensely gritty film from Buichi Saito.

The film revolves around the father-and-son duo who are hired by widows of samurai warriors to kill a tattooed female assassin as while they would encounter a clan lord’s son as they would all be involved in a game of political manipulation. It’s a film that explores the father/son duo who trek through Japan as they would briefly diverge due to the son’s interest towards a group of circus performers as it lead to strange journeys for the both as they would encounter mysterious foes including Yagyu Gunbei (Yoichi Hayashi) who is the son of Ogami’s nemesis Retsudo (Tatsuo Endo) as it relates to an incident that left Gunbei disgraced and banished as well as Retsudo making plans to destroy Ogami’s life. Kazuo Koike’s script does emphasize a lot on flashbacks and narration as it play into Ogami’s journey with his son Daigoro as the assassin they target in Oyuki (Michi Azuma) who has been killing men as well as shocking them with her tattoo of a child grasping of her left breast. Ogami would learn more about who Oyuki is as it all play into not just what happened to her but also a world of corruption within the world of politics.

Buichi Saito’s direction is stylish in not just the presentation and its approach to over-the-top violence and emphasis on drama. Shot on various locations in Japan, Saito’s direction does emphasize on a lot of the visual tropes that was prevalent in the previous films while adding some unique visuals of his own that include some of the flashback sequences. Notably in the showdown between Ogami and Gunbei where a taboo act by the latter would cause trouble where Saito’s camera definitely showcases a clear and direct shot of what Gunbei’s sword did as it was accidental. Saito’s compositions in the wide and medium shots don’t just play into the locations but also in some of the moments that occur such as Gunbei’s conversation with his father as it features this wide shot to show how far Gunbei has descended in his father’s eyes. Saito also include elements of surrealism as it play into Oyuki and her own journey as it relates to her own descent and the path that she’s taken.

With the aid of fight choreographer Eiichi Kusumoto, Saito’s approach to the action is more grounded with some aerial fighting during a scene where ninjas in disguise try to attack Ogami only to fail. Saito also play into moments that are simple with its usage of close-ups and medium shots such as the scene of Ogami meeting a clan leader in Jindayu Gomune (So Yamamura) who is from a lowly clan of outsider as he would reveal some information about Oyuki as well as what Ogami is tasked with. The film’s climax relates to not just this showdown between him and Retsudo but also an army as a long-standing conflict and a chance for vengeance would emerge. The images of decapitated body parts and blood-sprays help add to the climax as well as the journey that Ogami and Daigoro has to go through in their quest for justice. Overall, Saito crafts a visceral yet exhilarating film about a father-son assassin duo who are tasked to kill a tattooed female assassin only to realize it is all part of a large political scheme.

Cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural and lush colors as well as some low-key lighting by Genken Nakaoka for a few scenes in the interior scenes that include the meeting between Retsudo and Gunbei. Editor Toshio Taniguchi does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of montage cutting, rhythmic cuts, and dissolves that help play into the film’s energetic tone as well as in some of the film’s suspenseful and dramatic moments. Production designer Shigenori Shimoishizaka does amazing work with the look of the homes of some of the clan leaders as well as a temple where a group of ninjas try to attack Ogami. The makeup work of Hideo Yamuto and Toshio Tanakais fantastic for the look of some of the characters including the circus performers that Daigoro is fascinated by while Seiji Mori’s tattoo design is a major highlight of the film as it help play into the terror that Oyuki brings with her tattoos.

The special stunt effects by Daizen Shishido is terrific for the some of the flights of the ninjas and surreal elements that occur in some of the fight scenes. The sound work of Tsuchitaro Hayashi, with sound effects by Toru Kurashima, is superb for the atmosphere that is created as well as in the sound effects that help play into the suspense, action, and surrealistic moments of the film. The film’s music by Hideaki Sakurai is incredible for its mixture of jazz, funk, and traditional Japanese string/percussion music as it help play into the action as well some of the film’s drama and suspenseful moments.

The film’s wonderful cast feature some notable small roles from Hiroshi Tanaka as Oyuki’s old instructor Juzaemon Kashiwagi who uses powers to hypnotize her, Asao Koike as a powerful chamberlain in Tokugawa Yoshinao whom Retsudo is doing political schemes with, So Yamamura as the clan leader Gomune Jindaiyu who runs a clan of outcasts, and Tatsuo Endo as Yagyu Retsudo as a devious clan leader who disgraced Ogami as he is eager to rise up the ranks while eventually having a showdown with Ogami in the film’s climax. Yoichi Hayashi is excellent as Retsudo’s son Gunbei as a disgraced warrior whose accidental action cost him everything as he would later encounter Ogami in an attempt for redemption as well as a chance to come to terms with what happened to him. 

Michi Azuma is brilliant as Oyuki as the tattooed assassin who kills those in her path as well as enemies as she becomes a target for Ogami as she copes with the path she’s chosen as well as hope for redemption. Finally, there’s the duo of Akihiro Tomikawa and Tomisaburo Wakayama in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Daigoro and Ogami Itto as they both provide that air of restraint in their terror as the former remains low-key while being observant of what is going while the latter remains this chilling presence as someone who can kill with great skill while remains haunted by what he lost as is intent on this path he and his son are going into.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril is a sensational film from Buichi Saito that features great performances from Tomisaburo Wakayama and Akihiro Tomikawa. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, a ripping music soundtrack, and a chilling story of revenge and loss. The film is definitely an evocative samurai film that plays into a man being tasked to kill someone only to realize the scope of corruption that is emerging around him. In the end, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril is a spectacular film from Buichi Saito.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance - Baby Cart at the River Styx - Baby Cart to Hades - Baby Cart in the Land of Demons – White Heaven in Hell

© thevoid99 2020

2015 Blind Spot Series: The Human Condition Trilogy

Based on the novel series by Junpei Gomikawa, The Human Condition is a film trilogy that explores the life of a young man with socialist and pacifist views of the world who endures oppression and terror during the era of World War II Japan. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi and screenplay by Kobayahi and Zenzo Matsuyama, the film is set into three parts that plays into the journey of a young man who goes from labor camp supervisor to serving as part of the Imperial army in World War II and becoming a POW for the Soviet Union as he questions the journey of his life. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Iseko Ariama, Chikage Awashima, Keiji Sada, Taketoshi Naito, Minoru Chiaki, Yusuke Kawazu, Tamao Nakamura, Chishu Ryu, and Hideko Takamine. The Human Condition is an astonishing and tremendous study of humanity in the era of war from Masaki Kobayashi.

The film is a three-part story told in the span of nearly three years from 1943 Japan to early 1946 as a man named Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) would endure a series of events and moments that would shape his view of humanity as he tries to hold on to his views of socialism and pacifism thinking that there’s some good in the world of war. Since it is a three-part movie with a total running time of 574-minutes (nine-hours and forty-seven minutes without intermission), it is a film that plays into Kaji’s view on the world from trying to change things and then be pushed to the edge over how the world works. In the first film, he starts out serving as labor camp supervisor in Japanese-occupied Manchuria in China where he is challenged by corrupt men who want to punish and rule over the Chinese. Due to his actions in trying to maintain some peace and civility, he would be punished into becoming a soldier in the second film where he endures brutality in his training and later tension with soldiers as he tries to train older recruits.

The third film would have Kaji trying to survive once his platoon has been overwhelmed where he is eventually captured by Soviet forces as he contends with everything he endures and encounters. The screenplays by Masaki Kobayashi and Zenzo Matsuyama explore not just Kaji’s evolution as a man trying to find some kind of hope and humanity during a horrific period of war. In the first film, Kaji starts out as a man of great intelligence as he is exempted from military service where he would take a job in Manchuria as a labor camp supervisor where he brings his new bride Michiko (Michiyo Aratama) as she tries to understand the work that Kaji is trying to do in his work where he has to deal with corrupt officials despite the support of a camp officer in Okishima (So Yamamura) and a young Chinese officer in Chen (Akira Ishihama). While he tries to appease prisoners including a few troublesome Chinese prisoners like Kao (Shinji Nanbara) as well as offering prostitutes to ease their troubles.

Things don’t go right because of the way the Japanese wants to control things and to ensure the increase production in ore as trouble would ensue where Kaji’s actions into helping the Chinese and ensure that they’re treated humanly would lead to his path in the second film. By being forced to serve in the military as punishment where there are those watching over him, Kaji would survive training though he longs to be with his wife. Yet, some of the tactics of veteran soldiers and such would create trouble and tragedy where Kaji tries to make things right as his actions would get the attention of his old friend Kageyama (Keiji Sada) who would have Kaji train older recruits during the final moments of war. Yet, his attempts to make things easier and deal with things behind the scenes only trouble him as Soviet forces would arrive. The third film would be about Kaji’s attempt to survive with the few allies he has left as he would encounter a group of lost refugees, soldiers without leaders, and eventual capture by the Soviets. All of which leads to him trying to comprehend the idea of war and what it means to live.

It’s not just the development of Kaji that is important but also in the environment and people he encounter in his journey from being this idealist pacifist with socialist views on the world to a soldier who saw a world that is very troubled and dark in the days of war. In some ways, it is an anti-war film that is being told but one that plays into a man trying to hold into the idea that there is good in the world of war as he ponders if the enemy are just as humane as he is. While there are those who are baffled by his idealism and determination, they would admire him for sticking to his beliefs as he would be tested. Even in moments where Kaji would be forced to see people who are good be harmed either by their own selfishness or by some event as it add to Kaji questioning his own ideals as his capture by the Soviet would only create more confusion from within.

Kobayashi’s direction is nothing short of grand in terms of its visuals as well as the length to tell the story with such ambition. For the first film entitled No Greater Love and its subsequent films, Kobayashi does maintain compositions and images that do play into Kaji’s struggle with the world that often include slanted camera angles as if Kaji is either walking up or down a hill or a mountain. Shot on location in northern Japan (due to strained Chinese-Japanese relations at the time), Kobayashi’s usage of mountains and barren landscapes play into the world of the labor camps where the Chinese are imprisoned along with these intricate usage of tracking shots that would become a prominent factor for much of trilogy. Notably for scenes in the second film Road to Eternity where Kobayashi would use these intricate tracking shots to play into the sense of tension that emerges in the training camps and at the barracks where soldiers sleep as it makes things uneasy.

The direction also Kobayashi maintain a sense of intimacy through his usage of close-ups and medium shots for scenes at the camp and brothels in No Greater Love and at the camps in Road to Eternity. Much of it would play into not just Kaji’s sense of longing but also his struggle to hold on to his beliefs and the semblance of humanity around him. The close-ups wouldn’t just play into Kaji’s own state of mind but also in the characters who would become attached to him as the final days of the war is emerging. In the second half of Road to Eternity where Kaji and his platoon would have to battle it out with the Soviets. It does become a very different film where Kaji is in the middle of a battlefield knowing that he might die but manages to survive but its aftermath would play into a growing sense of disillusionment. It then leads to the third and final film of the trilogy in A Soldier’s Prayer where Kaji and a few soldiers he had befriend are fighting to survive where they would encounter refugees and others on their way back to Manchuria. The third film does become much broader in terms of its visuals and in its suspense as well as the sense of drama where Kaji is trying to maintain some dignity despite the fact that he knows that Japan has been defeated.

Kaji’s encounter with different types of refugees would play into his own resolve where Kobayashi’s direction is quite vast in its compositions that include some very wide shots of the farmland where Chinese militia farmers are taking watch. By the time the film moves into the Soviet camps, it does become more grim where Kaji would endure labor work as punishment but also a sense of disillusionment in the way he sees the Soviet as who they really are from their view of socialism. It’s in these moments where Kobayashi would definitely heighten the tension and drama for an ending where Kaji and everything he had encountered would force him to make a decision for what is right in the world. Overall, Kobayashi creates what is truly an astronomical and gripping trilogy of films about a humanist dealing with war and inhumanity during one of the most horrific periods in world history.

Cinematographer Yoshio Miyajima does brilliant work with the black-and-white cinematography for all three films where he infuses a lot of unique images and lighting schemes with Takaskhi Kato providing some harsh lights for a rainy scene in the first film while Akira Aomatsu does some of the lights for scenes at night and in the interiors for the second and third film as well as some naturalistic images for the latter for scenes set in the woods as the photography is among one of the film‘s highlights. Editor Keiichi Uraoka does amazing work with the editing in not just creating rhythmic cuts for some of the dramatic and active moments in the film but also some dissolves and stylish cuts to play into the drama including the usage of flashbacks and freeze-frames for the third film.

Production designer Kazue Hirakata, with set designers Yoji Maru (for the first film) and Takamasi Kobayashi (for the second and third films) and set decorators Kyoji Sasaki (for the first film) and Seiji Ishikawa (for the second and third films), does fantastic work with the set design from the look of the Manchurian villages where Kaji and Michiko would live to the labor camps, training camps, and other places that Kaji would encounter throughout his journey. Sound recorder Hideo Nishizaki does excellent work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the labor camps and ore mines in the first film as well as the scenes set in the training camps, battlefields, and at the Soviet prison to play into the world that Kaji is at. The film’s music by Chuji Kinoshita is great as it features an array of compositions from somber string arrangements to play into the drama to bombastic orchestral numbers that add to the tone of war as well as cadence drum arrangements to play into that world of the military.

The casting for all three films are incredible as it is a large yet well-crafted ensemble in the many roles that were assembled for the film. From No Greater Love, there’s notable small roles from Nobuo Nakamura as labor camp manager, Akitake Kono as a camp captain, Eitaro Ozawa as a brutish camp official in Okazaki, Masao Mishima as the camp manager Kuroki, Seiji Mizoguchi as the prisoner Wang Heng Li, Shinji Nanbara as the prisoner Kao, Koji Mitsui as the abusive camp officer Furya, Ineko Arima as the prostitute Yang Chun Lan who falls for Kao, Akira Ishihama as the Chinese officer Chen, So Yamamura as the sympathetic officer Okimshima, and Chikage Awashima as the brothel madam Jin Tung Fu whom Chen would fall for.

From Road to Eternity, there’s small roles from Kokini Katsura and Jun Tatara as a couple of first-class privates, Michio Minami as the abusive private first-class Yoshida, Fumio Watanabe and Shoji Yasui as a couple of officers at the camp, and Susumu Fujita as an older recruit Kaji is training. From A Soldier’s Prayer, there’s noteworthy small roles from Tamao Nakamura as a refugee Kaji and his fellow soldiers encounter, Ed Keene and Ronald Self as a couple of Soviet officers, Koji Kiyoumura and Keijiro Morozumi as a couple of soldiers, Kyoko Kishida as a prostitute refugee that Koji meets, Reiko Hitomi as a young woman who joins the soldiers on a journey, Hideko Takamine as a woman in a refugee camp, and Chishu Ryu as an old man in the refugee camp.

From the second film, Kei Sato is terrific as the veteran recruit Shinjo who would make a drastic attempt to escape the military while Kunie Tanaka is superb as the poor-sighted and cowardly Obara who would endure horrific abuse in the hands of supervisors. Keiji Sada is excellent as Kaji’s old friend Kageyama who appears in the first and second film where he becomes a lieutenant in the latter who would appoint Kaji to train a group of older officers. Taketoshi Naito and Yusuke Kawazu are brilliant in their respective roles as the soldiers Tange and Terada who both admire Kaji for his determination with the former being the cynic and the latter being a young man. Nobuo Kaneko is fantastic as the corrupt officer Kirihara who would also be captured by the Soviets where he is able to sway things in their favor much to Kaji’s disgust.

Michiyo Aratama is amazing as Kaji’s wife Michiyo who copes with her husband’s activities and his absences as she would visit him during his training as a soldier while becoming an object of determination in the third film where she would appear as an apparition of other women to remind him what he needs to return to. Finally, there’s Tatsuya Nakadai in a performance for the ages as Kaji as an idealistic young man who would endure some of the most horrific events in history. It’s a performance where Nakadai maintains a sense of humility and drive into his performance where he starts off as determined to make a difference in a world that is very cruel only to be pushed and pushed to face the harsher side of reality. Even as he contends with some of the actions he had caused and his attempts to do good during the time of war as it is a very haunting yet exhilarating performance from Nakadai.

The 2009 four-disc Region 1 DVD set from the Criterion Collection presents the films in their 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio on an enhanced 16x9 widescreen format with 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono sound as both sound and image are remastered for this release. Three discs contain the three different films in the trilogy as well as a fourth disc of special features. The first is a fourteen-minute excerpt of a rare 1993 interview with Masaki Kobayashi by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda made for the Japanese Director’s Guild. Kobayashi talks about his collaboration with cinematographer Yoshio Miyajima and their methods as well as aspects on the production along with the first film’s initial reception, despite winning an award at the Venice Film Festival, where it wasn’t well-received.

The 18-minute interview Tatsuya Nakadai has the actor talking about the film and his performance where he was just a newcomer who had worked with Kobayashi prior to making the trilogy. Nakadai also talks about the production as it was a tough one that spanned over three years as only he and Kobayashi were the only ones that didn’t get sick throughout the production. Nakadai also talks about how some of his performance was based on Kobayashi’s own experience as a POW which he added into the film as well as talking about seeing the film over the years which he is proud of as he also thinks it’s one of the finest anti-war films ever made.

The 25-minute appreciation video about the film and Kobayashi by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda has the filmmaker discussing a lot of the film’s themes and how it would relate to the films Kobayashi would make throughout his career. Shinoda also talks about Kobayashi’s life as a POW which would reflect on some of the scenes shown on the film where Kobayashi wanted a realistic depiction of what it was like. Shinoda also talks about the novelist of the stories who, like Kobayashi, was also part of the military that refused to serve as an officer where the two both shared their own experiences of war which would play into the film. Shinoda also talks about the romantic elements in the film that he felt was overlooked as he revealed much of the influence of late 1930s French cinema that had an impact on Kobayashi as a filmmaker.

The DVD set includes the trailers for all three films which displays its sense of ambition and importance to the Japanese cinema. The DVD set also includes an essay by film historian Philip Kemp entitled The Prisoner where Kemp talks about Kobayashi’s film career but also the state of Japan during the time the film was made. One of which where Japan was struggling with the actions it caused as well as be in denial about what they did where the film’s release did spark some controversy despite the international acclaim it would receive. Kemp also talks about the film and its narrative along with some of its irony as it concerns Kaji’s socialist views which would add to Kaji’s own downfall and disillusionment. It’s a very compelling essay that serves as a fine accompaniment to a towering trilogy.

The Human Condition trilogy is truly an outstanding achievement from Masaki Kobayashi that features a spectacular performance from Tatsuya Nakadai. While each film do stand out on their own, it is far more powerful and exhilarating as one entire piece thanks to a great ensemble cast and amazing technical work. It is also an intriguing study about humanity at a point in time where human kindness and decency are swayed away by something as senseless as war. In the end, The Human Condition trilogy is a magnificent trilogy of films by Masaki Kobayashi.

Masaki Kobayashi Films: (Black River) - Harakiri - Kwaidan - Samurai Rebellion - (Hymn to a Tired Man) - (The Fossil) - (Tokyo Trial)

© thevoid99 2015

Tokyo Story

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/24/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu with a script co-written with longtime collaborator Kogo Noda, Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story) tells the story of an elderly couple traveling to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon their arrival, they see that their children have become too absorbed in their own lives as they ponder their existence around the children they had raised. The film is a personal tale of a couple dealing with their own existence as well as what their children have become and the treatment they receive. Starring Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Kyoko Kagawa, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimara, and So Yamamura. Tokyo monogatari is a thoughtful yet universal tale from Yasujiro Ozu.

Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and Tomi Hirayama (Chieko Higashiyama) are set to go on a trip to Tokyo to visit their elder children. Living with them in their seaside town of Onomichi is their youngest daughter Kyoko (Kyoko Kagawa), who works as a schoolteacher. Arriving to Tokyo to meet their eldest son Koichi (So Yamamura), who is a pediatrician, and their hair salon manager Shige (Haruko Sugimara). Shukichi and Tomi live at Koichi's place for a while with his wife Fumiko (Kuniko Miyake) and two sons. The eldest child Minoru isn't really happy, even when they were supposed to go on a tour of the city that got cancelled because Koichi had to help a sick child. Even Shige has a hard time trying to fit in her time with her parents as they call in their widowed sister-in-law Noriko (Setsuko Hara) for help. Noriko takes them on a tour of the city with much delight while telling them stories about her late husband.

With the living situation troubled, Shige and Koichi suggests they stay at a modern-day spa to relax. Unfortunately, the spa was too loud for the elderly couple to stay as they decided to return to Shige's. With Shukichi wanting to visit a couple of old friends where he expresses his disappointment over his elder children, Tomi stays at Noriko's where she suggest that Norkio should remarry. Shukichi and Tomi decide to return home with Noriko giving Tomi some spending money as gratitude while hoping to visit them at their seaside home. With Shige and Koichi set to return to their normal, busy lives, they receive some news about Tomi that forces them to go to Onomichi with Noriko joining them. With the youngest song Keizo (Shiro Osaka) coming as he met his parents briefly on their way back. The children is forced to ponder the days of the trip with Kyoko wondering about the idea of getting old as Noriko has own perspective about growing up.

The film's story is a simple story about an elderly couple visiting their older children in Tokyo and dealing with the lives of their children along with the changes that's going on. Yet, that's what the film is about in some respects but it's really more about two journeys the parents take to Japan and the children's journey to visit their parents during a catastrophic event. What it's really about is how a family is disconnected by changes and other things and how the children are trying to have the time to spend the day with their parents but are forced to deal with their own lives. For the parents, the visit for their kids haven't been as enjoyable as they wanted to be as the elderly kids feel a bit disappointed while their parents aren't happy about it either with the exception of the daughter-in-law Noriko who was the only person to give her whole day's worth for her in-laws.

For the parents, it's clear that changing times and maybe expectations for their children are some of the reasons why the trip wasn't enjoyable along with the grandchildren who aren't as engaging or disciplined as they wished they could be. Still, they have managed to accept that it's their lives and wish they could have more time as they decided to go home. When news came about their mother's illness, the children along with Noriko go to the seaside home despite their mother's wishes not to visit them. Yet, it's clear that what happens prove to be troubling with the youngest son feeling guilty for not getting the telegram right away due to business travel. What happens afterwards near the end has the youngest daughter Kyoko upset over the selfishness of the two elder kids. It's Noriko's comments about life and changes that prove to be more profound and universally truthful.

The screenplay is not very plot-driven as it the story does start out slow early on when the parents arrive to Tokyo. Yet, the subtle touches Yasujiro Ozu and co-screenwriter Kogo Noda like Tomi's comments to Noriko about getting married again so she wouldn't have to be lonely. A lesser film would've delved into sentimentality but the story and character refuses to in order to have the story told. Even little touches that the writers create that would prove to be foreshadowing at first don't seem like a big deal until later on. Yet, the interaction between parents and children and grandparents and grandchildren feel very realistic in its storytelling. Even in the film's third act where Shige makes comments that might seem heartless but it's only because she wished that she wouldn't have to go through this current state of event in her life while wanting something that Kyoko feels is very selfish.

The storytelling and development of characters and their situation is genius to how the story is told. It's the approach of what Yasujiro Ozu does as a director by bringing in an intimacy and minimalist staging to telling the film. With his striking compositions he creates in his direction along with the camera not making any kind of movements. There's something that is engaging yet also, a bit imposing in what Ozu is doing with the direction. A lot of the film's interior scenes are shot on the floor to emphasize its intimacy as well as exploring the conversations that goes on. Ozu's camera is invested in what is going on while the compositions he creates including some far exterior shots of the cities to know where the characters are. Even though it takes a while for the film to move in its slow-pacing, Ozu's direction definitely pays off towards the end as he creates a film that is universal and relevant more than fifty years since its release.

Cinematographer Yuuhara Atsuta does an excellent job with the film's black-and-white photography to help Ozu in the film's unique, striking visual compositions. Atsuta's work including the shadings of light in some of the rooms as well as the use of sunlight for the daytime exterior scenes in emphasizing the film's mood. The overall cinematography is one of the film's technical highlights along with the editing by Yoshiyasu Hamamura. The editing is mostly straightforward since there's no camera movements as it has a nice, rhythmic cutting along with transitions with not much use of fade outs. Instead, the cutting is just a simple cut to display the film's sense of simplicity. The production design by Tatsuo Hamada and Itsuo Takahashi is very good for its contrast of traditional Japanese housing in the parents' home with the more modern-day look of the homes that everyone else lives in.

Costume designer Taizo Saito does a nice job with the film's costumes with its robes and suits that Shukichi wears along with the robes in the film's third act. The music by Kojun Saito is truly extraordinary with its sense of melancholia and playfulness to emphasize on the film's varied emotions with lots of sweeping and somber arrangements. Saito's score is truly mesmerizing as it's another of the film's notable technical achievements.

The cast is excellent with its small appearances from Sachiko Mitani as the neighbor of Shukichi and Tomi along with Nobuo Nakamura as Shige's husband. Hisao Toake is good as Shukichi's longtime friend Hattori along with Eijiro Tono as another friend who expresses disappointment over how his son turned out. Zen Murase and Mitsuhiro Mori are excellent as the sons of Koichi with Mori having a more memorable role as the selfish older son. Kuniko Miyake is good as Koichi's wife Fumiko who is trying to remain order in her house for her in-laws while Shiro Osaka is very good as Keizo, the youngest son of the family who expresses guilt over not getting a telegram in time about his parents.

Kyoko Kagawa is great as Kyoko, the youngest daughter who lives with her parents while being very angry over what happens about their trip and at her siblings. Haruko Sugimara is excellent as the eldest daughter Shige who might seem cruel in how she says things about her family though in truth, really does care about them despite her very busy life. So Yamamura is also excellent as Koichi, the eldest son who has no idea what to do with his parents due to his own work as he makes the suggestion of putting them in a spa. The film's best supporting performance easily goes to Setsuko Hara as Noriko, the daughter-in-law who does all of her efforts to spend her time with her in-laws. Hara's performance is truly phenomenal and not drenched with sentimentality as a woman trying to move on with her life though deciding not to get married while is convinced that she is selfish even though Shukichi and Tomi believe that she isn't.

Chieko Higashiyama is great as Tomi, the lively mother who smiles a lot as she tries to understand her kids and connect with her grandchildren. Higashiyama's performance is full of life and wisdom as she has a great scene with Hara that requires little emotion the interaction they have is full of magic. Chishu Ryu is brilliant as Shukichi, the father who is hoping to see all of the great things he hears about his elder kids while dealing with the changing times. Ryu, a regular of Ozu's films, is truly amazing in his understated performance while he has great scenes with Higashiyama as the chemistry the two have is amazing. The near-last scene with Ryu and Hara is also amazing for its understated tone and its emotional impact with Ryu being so subtle and not doing much with Hara giving into a heartbreaking performance that is devastating to watch.

Tokyo monogatari is a mesmerizing yet heartbreaking film from Yasujiro Ozu with a universal message about family and changing times. Audiences new to Ozu will find this film as a great introduction to his unique, visual style and compositions while film students will definitely find something in his minimalist technique in terms of directing and staging. With a superb cast led by Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, and Setsuko Hara, it's a film that has themes that are still relevant to this day as it crosses many barriers. In the end, for a film that is touching about the idea of family, growing up, and expectations. Tokyo monogatari is the film to see from one of cinema's great masters is Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) - (Days of Youth) - Tokyo Chorus - I Was Born, But… - (Dragnet Girl) - Passing Fancy - (A Mother Should Be Loved) - A Story of Floating Weeds - (An Inn in Tokyo) - (The Only Son) - (What Did the Lady Forget?) - (Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family) - (There Was a Father) - Record of a Tenement Gentleman - (A Hen in the Wind) - Late Spring - Early Summer - (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice) - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight - (Equinox Flower) - Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer - An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2011