J's Favorite Movies
Tokyo Story
Unrated
Where do people begin and end? ...how much is there to an individual like yourself? I've just been watching Tokyo Story again, and it reminded me of some questions that go stale - they are a constant when we're young then generally disappear behind humdrum existence. A thoroughly noble and kind elderly couple visit their adult children in Tokyo: Doctor, owner of a salon, and businessman, they have little time to spare for their aging parents, and soon pack them off to pass the time at a nearby resort. In contrast to their children there is beyond angelic, self-effacing, widowed daughter in law, Noriko. This might seem like a weak premise for a feature-length movie but it's the silences that say the most in Ozu's movies. Because of this he manages to be simultaneously subtle and unambiguous, slow and intense, familiar and thought-provoking. Initially from my perspective it seemed ironic, but the unique quality in this film is simplicity and the lack of commentary - Ozu accurately represents the way we find life. It's not a movie that hollywood might recognise. As Roger Ebert says: "Tokyo Story lacks sentimental triggers and contrived emotion; it looks away from moments a lesser movie would have exploited. It doesn't want to force our emotions, but to share its understanding. It does this so well that I am near tears in the last 30 minutes."
London
Unrated
very, very, very slow. it has no real plot as such, no actors, no scene changes etc. set around the 1992 gen election, but it has no target. pretty much everybody who's forced to sit through it would think it was torture. poss. the best movie i've ever seen!
