Tokyo Sonata (Tokyo Sonata) (2008)

94% of critics liked it
(83 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(11,890 ratings)

A typical household secretly teeters on the verge of collapse in this stark drama from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Businessman Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is the principal breadwinner of a seemingly happy family in Tokyo, with Ryuhei looking after his teenage sons, Takashi (Yu Koyanagi) and Kenji… More A typical household secretly teeters on the verge of collapse in this stark drama from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Businessman Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is the principal breadwinner of a seemingly happy family in Tokyo, with Ryuhei looking after his teenage sons, Takashi (Yu Koyanagi) and Kenji (Kai Inowaki), with his wife, Megumi (Kyoko Koizumi). But what Megumi and her children don't know is that Ryuhei is out of a job; his position was outsourced to a company in China, and he's too ashamed to tell his family the truth. Ryuhei leaves home every morning as if he's going to the office, but instead visits employment centers in hopes of landing a new job and eats lunch at a kitchen for the indigent. One day, while waiting for free porridge, Ryuhei meets an old friend who is in a similar predicament, Kurosu (Kanji Tsuda); Kurosu ends up bringing Ryuhei home for dinner so they can discuss their fictive day at work and maintain their subterfuge. Megumi, who is not as well-adjusted as she appears, one day spots her husband in a soup line while running errands, and discovers the truth about his employment status, though she doesn't dare confront him. And as Takashi and Kenji begin drifting away from their emotionally distant parents, Kenji starts to suspect things are not as they should be, and begins spending his lunch money on music lessons in hopes of starting a career as a pianist. Tokyo Sonata was an official entry at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 1 min.
Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Written By: Max Mannix, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sachiko Tanaka
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 13, 2009 Wide
On DVD: May 4, 2010
Studio: Regent Releasing

Critic Reviews

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
Kurosawa is the rare director who simply lets his film dissolve into music, allowing the plot to take the film naturally to a musical conclusion.
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter
Kurosawa's first domestic drama is music to general audience's ears.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
A skilful and continually surprising drama, Tokyo Sonata depicts the gradual deterioration of an ordinary Japanese family after its breadwinner loses his job owing to corporate downsizing.
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail
The film transcends conventions of genre and cultural boundaries, and turns out to be one of the most compelling, finely orchestrated and oddly enchanting films of the year so far.
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to the master) is best known for his up-market horror films (Cure, Retribution, and many others.) Here he is dealing with a horror of a different sort: the meltdown of the Japanese economy and the collapse of the soc
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
A realistic social drama, but the story taps deep, cold wellsprings of dread.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
There's a lesson in Tokyo Story. The lesson has to do with kindness and human interaction.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A highlight of the Cannes Film Fest, Tokyo Sonata should broaden Kurosawa's appeal in the U.S.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A horror film of a different sort from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who made his reputation as a "J-horror" director of intelligent supernatural thrillers ...
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
Japanese horror maestro Kiyoshi Kurosawa applies his offbeat approach to the uniquely Japanese brand of dysfunctional family comedy in this droll satire.
Dan Fainaru, Screen International
Taking a break from his regular diet of fantasy and horror, Japan's Kiyoshi Kurosawa delivers here a fierce indictment of modern-day Japan.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
Kurosawa's relaxed pacing and lack of concern for explaining every last thing will be a welcome relief if you've wearied of blockbusters...
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa cut his teeth on horror movies, and his flattened, formal style mines the horror in everyday urban life.
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
Kagawa does the heavy dramatic lifting in Tokyo Sonata, convincingly portraying a good man flailing against reality. But Koizumi is similarly effective, and the brooding child actor Kai is also top-notch.
Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
There may be no ghosts, but the Sasakis' house is as haunted as anything that Kurosawa has yet put on film.
Donald Munro, Fresno Bee
The film in many ways is the bleakest indictment of contemporary Japanese culture I've seen. Yet it also functions as dark comedy, fierce character study and uplifting tale of redemption.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Inside Bay Area
No quote available.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
While the first half of Tokyo Sonata plays like a darkish comedy, the last half is both bleaker and more emotionally engaging.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

This is a very good movie, which unfortunately does not translate to being enjoyable. It follows the lives of a family - a father who has been made redundant, and is too proud to tell his wife, so leaves the house every day pretending to work, and eventually accepting a menial job as… More
This is a very good movie, which unfortunately does not translate to being enjoyable. It follows the lives of a family - a father who has been made redundant, and is too proud to tell his wife, so leaves the house every day pretending to work, and eventually accepting a menial job as a cleaner secretly. The wife, who is actually onto him, having seen him queuing for food with the unemployed one day, but not wishing to admit she knows so he loses face. Their two children, one of whom signs up with the American army to get away from them all, and a little boy who is stealing his lunch money to pay for the piano lessons his parents would not let him take. This movie is painfully slow, and though beautifully done, is not an experience I would like to sit through again. Maybe it is a Japanese culture thing, because I pretty much felt like slapping the lot of them and screaming "Be honest!!". Thankfully, there is some hope for this family at the end!
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Tokyo Sonata" starts with a storm bearing down on Japan which blows all the jobs of the administration department away into China including that of its 46-year old director Ryuhei Sasaki(Teruyuki Kagawa) who packs up two shopping bags full of belongings… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Tokyo Sonata" starts with a storm bearing down on Japan which blows all the jobs of the administration department away into China including that of its 46-year old director Ryuhei Sasaki(Teruyuki Kagawa) who packs up two shopping bags full of belongings before leaving. Eventually, he disposes of them, deciding not to tell his wife(Kyoko Koizumi). His old school pal Kurosu(Kanji Tsuda) is in the same boat but has honed his lying to an art form. At home, Ryuhei rarely sees his older son Takashi(Yu Koyanagi) while his younger son Kenji(Inowaki Kai) has taken a sudden interest in the piano.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]With the exception of one sequence late in the movie, "Tokyo Sonata" is a subtle exploration of what it means to be unemployed in Japan, as jobs are leaving the country at a breakneck pace, affecting the managerial classes in inordinate numbers.(The people on the breadlines seem better dressed than I would normally expect.) None of this is their fault, just the system that has not given them any noticeable skills, just as it is not Kenji's fault that the big book of manga falls into his lap. These same people sit still or stand on lines while the rest of the world passes them by. But no matter how quickly the world moves, the important thing is to find your place in the new world.[/font]
Jeff T

Fascinating and frustrating. This delicate drama from Japan has a quiet and stunning first 70 minutes, an incredibly odd and off-putting middle 40 and then back to stunning and lovely for the last 10. If not for those final 10 minutes, I would have to admit it lost me, but… More
Fascinating and frustrating. This delicate drama from Japan has a quiet and stunning first 70 minutes, an incredibly odd and off-putting middle 40 and then back to stunning and lovely for the last 10. If not for those final 10 minutes, I would have to admit it lost me, but they're a pretty great last 10... That middle 40 though... hmmm....
August S

A perfect comedy and family drama all at the same time that does not tell a very intriguing story, but also specifically portrays Japan with realism.
Erin C

This was actually pretty good. It was a little slow, but the story was interesting.
Christopher B

Brilliant! Kurosawa sets up his film as a somewhat typical family drama, with a lot of tension about an unhappy family becoming even unhappier, then... well it becomes a Kurosawa film. It seems that this is an expansion of his previous film, Doppelganger, which plays with… More
Brilliant! Kurosawa sets up his film as a somewhat typical family drama, with a lot of tension about an unhappy family becoming even unhappier, then... well it becomes a Kurosawa film. It seems that this is an expansion of his previous film, Doppelganger, which plays with conventions in a way that may leave some audience scratching their noggins, but to others it's absolutely thrilling. And it's not like Tarrintino, throwing vampires into a gangster film (not bad mouthing From Dusk til Dawn. Great film), but a lot more organic. Just not predictable. I've always dug Kurosawa, though I worry about his determination not to be pigeonholed as a horror director. I feared this was going to be his For Love of the Game, where he casually spits on his previous work and makes something much more palatable. Not to worry. This is pure Kiyoshi all the way. It also reminds me of 2 other of my favourite Japanese family dramas, Miike's awesome Visitor Q an Happiness of the Katakuris. Highly recommended.
Daisy M

I thought this film would be a depressing film to watch, but I was surprised that the film was actually very uplifting. Although it was a sad story, it has a very powerful message if you watch it to the end, that will encourage you to move on even when life gets to its darkest moment.… More
I thought this film would be a depressing film to watch, but I was surprised that the film was actually very uplifting. Although it was a sad story, it has a very powerful message if you watch it to the end, that will encourage you to move on even when life gets to its darkest moment. This story was about typical problems of dysfunctional family in Japan.The leader of the family lost his job and was afraid to tell the family, the elder son join American army and go to war, the younger son wanted to learn the piano but the father forbids him, the wife was depressed of trying to hold the family together. The film was so delicate and beautiful. It captures the feeling of each character and the whole depressive atmosphere of Tokyo as well. The pace was slow but not boring because you can follow the story very easily and you can sympathize with each one of the characters. It did not even have any Hollywood boring formula of sentimental film. This was a real work of art.