Tokyo Chorus

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and screenplay by Komatsu Kitamura and Kogo Noda, Tokyo Chorus is the story of a working man hoping to get his pay in the chance to give his family a moment of happiness as he deals with the reality of his life. The film is an exploration into the look of the working class in Tokyo as it revolves the story of a man and others dealing with day-to-day life during the Great Depression. Starring Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Hideo Sugawara, Hideko Takamine, Tatsuo Saito, and Chouko Iida. Tokyo Chorus is a touching and engaging film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film follows a man who is fired from his job after turning down a bonus after learning that an older co-worker is fired prompting him to struggle in finding work and raise his family. It’s a film that explores life during the Great Depression in Tokyo as a man is trying to uphold some honor for those he work for as well as trying to do good for his family as he promises his son a bicycle. The film’s screenplay by Komatsu Kitamura and Kogo Noda doesn’t just explore a man dealing with unemployment but also the need to do what is right as he would wander around Tokyo trying to find work at a time when jobs were becoming scarce. The film does open in an unconventional manner as it revolves the protagonist Shinji Okajima (Tokihiko Okada) causing trouble as he is being disciplined by his teacher Omura (Tatsuo Saito). The narrative would fast-forward years later where Okajima is working for an insurance company as he is to receive his bonus but his actions would later lead to trouble as he puts the livelihood of his family at great risk.

Yasujiro Ozu’s direction is definitely simple in terms of the compositions he creates as there isn’t very much movement with the camera other than a few tracking shots and a zoom-out as much of it remains this simple static shot in either close-ups or medium shots. Ozu’s direction captures the life of middle-class Tokyo and nearby areas as it shows a world that is struggling with the Depression where a man in his prime tries to help a co-worker who is older than him. Ozu showcases these struggles with an air of realism and doesn’t go for any kind of visual style to play into this realism. Even in some of the interiors as he captures a family struggling to get by as one of the children is ill as Okajima’s wife Sugako (Emiko Yagumo) is forced to sell a cherished possession. It would all play into Okajima having to wander around Tokyo to find work as he would have to swallow his pride as he would finally get help from someone from his past who would show him the means to fight for what he wants. Overall, Ozu creates a compelling and heartfelt film about a man trying to find work during the Great Depression in Tokyo.

Cinematographer/editor Hideo Shigehara does excellent work with the film’s cinematography and editing as the photography is straightforward in its black-and-white look while the editing is also simple with straight cuts to play into the drama. Set decorators Minzo Kakuta, Tsunetaro Kawaski, Beijiro Tanaka, and Yonekazu Wakita do fantastic work with the look of the home that Okajima and his family live in as well as the office he worked at in the films’ first act. Costume designer Ko Saito does nice work with the costumes from the look of the kimonos as well as the clothes of Okajima as he tries to present himself to get a job. The film’s wonderful score by Donald Sosin from the 2008 release from the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse series is a jovial piano score that help play into some of the film’s humor but also provide the right tone for the dramatic moments.

The film’s brilliant cast include some notable small roles from Kanji Kawara as a doctor, Reiko Tani as Okajima’s boss who would fire him, Ken’ichi Miyajima as the boss’ secretary, Takeshi Samamoto as the elderly employee who would be fired, and Choko Iida as Omura’s wife. Hideo Sugawara and Hideko Takamine are terrific in their roles as Okajima’s children with the former as the son wanting a bike and the latter as the daughter who would get sick during the film’s second act. Emiko Yagumo is excellent as Okajima’s wife Sugako as a wife trying to understand what her husband is doing as well as cope with the severity of his unemployment. Tatsuo Saito is amazing as Omura as a teacher of Okajima in the film’s opening sequence who disciplines him in how to conduct oneself at the work place as well as be someone that would help Okajima regain his confidence. Finally, there’s Tokihiko Okada in a marvelous performance as Shinji Okajima as a man working for an insurance company who tries to defend the rights of a fired co-worker as well as do what he can to give his family a good life while finding a job during one of Japan’s most trying times in the Great Depression.

Tokyo Chorus is a remarkable film from Yasujiro Ozu. It’s a silent film that explore Japan during the Great Depression that is filled with bits of humor as well as drama that has a realness as well as something that is engaging to a wide audience about the struggles to provide for one’s family. In the end, Tokyo Chorus is an incredible film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) – (Days of Youth) – 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) – Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight – (Equinox Flower) – Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer – (An Autumn Afternoon)

© thevoid99 2017

I Was Born, But...

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu and written by Ozu and Akira Fushimi, I Was Born, But… is the story of two boys whose love for his father is shaken when they learn of the way he treats himself to his boss. The film is an exploration of boys dealing with the role of their father and how their ideas of him are shattered by reality. Starring Tatsuo Saito, Tomio Aoki, and Hideo Sugawara. I Was Born, But… is an enchanting yet engrossing film from Yasujiro Ozu.

The film is essentially the story of a family moving to the suburbs where the father gets a very important job while his two sons adjust to their newfound home as they have to deal with bullies and such. Yet, they also have to learn about what their father does as they’re forced to face the realities of what he has to do for his boss. It’s a simple story that might seem like a mundane idea yet Yasujiro Ozu and co-writer Akira Fushimi create something that manages to quite captivating. Especially as its first half is about Keiji (Tomio Aoki) and his older brother Ryoichi (Hideo Sugawara) being the new kids as they’re bullied and feel lonely. Yet, they’ve managed to find ways to adjust to their situation where they befriend Taro (Seiichi Kato) whose father (Takeshi Sakamoto) is the boss of Keiji and Ryoichi’s father Chichi (Tatsuo Saito). The second half is about the boys learning about what their father does and what he had to do which is something that becomes uneasy to deal with.

Ozu’s direction is very simplistic in the way he creates compositions to capture the life of a family. Yet, it contains many of the visual attributes that he would do in his later films though he would utilize a lot of dolly shots for the scenes where the kids are walking on the road or to capture the atmosphere of the office that Chichi works at. Still, Ozu find ways to capture the intimacy of this family while keeping things naturalistic in the way children interact and such as well as showcasing the kind of mischief they do. Even as it would play to somber moments where the boys argue who has the better dad where it would play into Keiji and Ryoichi’s realization about their father. Overall, Ozu creates a very mesmerizing yet powerful comedy-drama about two boys’ relationship with their father.

Cinematographer/editor Hideo Shigehara does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into the suburban world the kids live in while maintaining a straightforward approach to the editing with the exception of the home movie Chichi‘s boss was showing. Art director Takashi Kono, with set decorators Yoshiro Kimura and Takejiro Tsunoda, does excellent work with the set pieces such as the home of Chichi and his family as well as some of the surroundings they live in. The film’s music by Donald Sosin is terrific for its piano-based score that is largely comical at times but also somber in the more dramatic moments as it is something that is typical with the silent films of the early 20th Century.

The film’s cast is brilliant as it includes some notable small roles from Shoichi Kofujita as the kind delivery boy, Seiji Nishimura as the boys’ teacher, Takeshi Sakamoto as Chichi’s boss Iwasaki, and Seiichi Kato as Iwasaki’s eccentric son Taro. Mitsuko Yoshikawa is wonderful as Ryoichi and Keiji’s mother who tries to get everyone to calm down and make sense of everything that is happening. Tomio Aoki and Hideo Sugawara are excellent in their respective roles as Keiji and Ryoichi as two boys trying to deal with their new home as well as what they would learn about their father. Finally, there’s Tatsuo Saito in a superb performance as Chichi as a man trying to do right for his family and keep his sons in check while dealing with the fact that the things he does for his boss has him questioning his worth for his sons.

I Was Born, But… is a marvelous film from Yasujiro Ozu. The film is a very touching yet intimate portrait about the ideas of father and what they mean to their boys as well as the reality that they have to face. Even as it is told with such care that it is engaging to audiences of all ages. In the end, I Was Born, But… is a fantastic film from Yasujiro Ozu.

Yasujiro Ozu Films: (Sword of Penitence) - (Days of Youth) - Tokyo Chorus - (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) - Tokyo Story - Early Spring - Tokyo Twilight - (Equinox Flower) - Good Morning - Floating Weeds - Late Autumn - The End of Summer - An Autumn Afternoon

© thevoid99 2013