Movie Review: Tokyo Sonata (2008)
Tokyo Sonata, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to the master), is a timely social drama about the disintegration of a family after the main breadwinner loses his job. This movie would probably hit home for the many people who have lost a job during the current economic turmoil and is an insightful commentary on Japanese society.
When his middle-management job is outsourced to China, Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) cannot find the fortitude to tell his wife Megumi (Kyoko Koizumi). Everyday, he puts his suit and tie on and pretends to go to work when, in fact, he does nothing else but spend the day at the job center and library or waiting in line at the free soup queue. One day, his wife sees him from afar, waiting in line at the soup kitchen, she knows but let’s on nothing. This is only the beginning of Ryuhei’s troubles though. His oldest son Takashi (Yu Koyanagi), unable to find a suitable job, decides to join the US military to fight in the Middle East. In the meanwhile, his younger son Kenji (Kai Inowaki) decides to take secret piano lessons using his school lunch money. Ryuhei attempts to use his fatherly authority to deny them but both are defiant. When all the family’s tightly bottled secrets and tense feelings finally start to come out, everything starts to unravel very quickly.
Kurosawa takes the film into strange and unpredictable directions from there, and for the most part, it makes Tokyo Sonata that much more resonant and powerful. One day, Ryuhei runs into a former high school friend, apparently successful and busy taking phone calls. It doesn’t take long before we realize he is also unemployed and has programmed his cell phone to ring a few times every hour. Ryuhei eventually finds a cleaning job at a mall, the ultimate humiliation for him. The director is able to make the most mundane scene insightful and dramatic from job interviews to household chores performed by Megumi. Some people had issues with the ending but I liked it, nothing is neatly resolved and it’s only a new start. Don’t we all wish for a new start every now and then?
Well-acted across the board, Tokyo Sonata is a twisted and unpredictable thriller of a melodrama. Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune to end the movie? Delightful.
B+
Lesson of the Day: Without a job, many people lose their identity.
Notes: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language, 120 minutes. Produced by Wouter Barendrecht, Yuki’e Kitô, Yasushi Kotani, Raymond Phathanavirangoon, and Michael J. Werner, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, cinematography by Akiko Ashizawa, a Django Film release.
11 Comments
I’ve been wanting to see this since I saw the trailer on the Departures DVD! Is this on DVD now?
Yes it is Robert.
great! I’m definitely going to check it out.
I’ve heard about this one a while ago but after reading this I’m definitely intrigued. Yes, in some cultures, someone’s job is their identity. Or when they’re in school, how they do in school is EVERYTHING to them, to the point that they’d kill themselves if they get a B or didn’t do well on an exam. That part when his wife saw him as she’s lining up at a soup kitchen but didn’t confront him on it is heartbreaking, I haven’t even seen the movie and I’m already affected by it. Great review Castor!
Indeed you are right Ruth. This is especially true in Far Eastern cultures where education is seen as the main priority for every youth. Hope you see it and love it
Saw Kurosawa, my ears peaked up. Oh well, close enough. One of these days you’ll review on of the original’s movies on here
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As for this movie, I’ve heard some good things about it, but it looks like it might be a bit of a downer (which I’m not in the mood for as of late). Foreign films in general like to leave loose ends, and up to the viewer endings. Either way a B+ may be enough to get me to check it out at least.
Nice review
It’s actually not a downer Ryan. It actually has a bit of everything, even situational comedy. I recommend it
Oddly enough, I reviewed this film about 6 months ago but it mysteriously vanished off my site 2 months ago. Out of 300+ reviews its the only one that did that. I think I violated some kind of copyright law by reviewing it early. Anywho I gave it the same rating as you so great minds think alike.
Ah great to hear you enjoyed as well! Definitely odd that one of your post would disappear without leaving a trace…
Nice review, I’ve heard good things about this but never really knew what it was about. Will check it out one of these days, currently going through an Asian cinema kick, so that always helps matters.
I had a good experience watching Tokyo Sonata – somehow saying “I enjoyed it” or “I had a good time” doesn’t apply, since it was such a depressing subject, right? Despite all the good points about Tokyo Sonata, my favorite Japanese films of 2008 were Still Walking (Aruitemo Aruitemo) by Kore-eda, and followed closely by Love Exposure (Ai no Mukidashi) by Sion Sono… which are two very different films. One is quite and small, the other is loud and epic (it lasts like 4hrs) LOL
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