ramkoil Some movies you cant be bothered to follow the plot because its so two dimensional and so badly acted. Some movies you forget the minute you leave the theater. Some leave an impression on you. But then some movies are more than just a good story told, they touch your soul. These moves are experiences you cherish. They have great story that transcend the senses, they are so well acted the characters come to life, you don't see actors acting the part you see people living their lives. These movies are masterfully directed, with great music. The Tokyo Family is such a movie. I read some of the comments, on this movie, there was one reviewer who said "Almost always when seeing oriental movies....I see the characters almost as if they were from another dimension" My advice to him is don't watch oriental or for that matter foreign movies anymore. This movie is about human feelings and family relations which is universal in human race.

geer-9 I was anticipating a respectful homage to Ozu's Tokyo Story. What I got was respectful but a very different take on Ozu's classic. Watching the first half was a little worrying as the movie took its time establishing the characters and setting the scene, with the obligatory nods to Ozu's super low camera angles. Had Yoji Yamada lost his way while eulogizing his hero? But this start made the second half really shine as you really knew the characters, and became involved in their actions since we understood their faults, and wondered if, or when, they were ever going to develop and change. Fans of Yamada will again delight in his subtle depictions of contemporary Japan. He has long championed the innate goodness of ordinary people living in suburbs and villages away from the tourist-trampled extremes of Shinjuku, Ginza or Gion. Although his characters are imperfect, they exemplify Yamada's profound respect for the institutions of family and friendship. Additionally, Im not sure if this was a deliberate subplot or not but, students of Japanese gender-based communication style differences will find a minefield of scenes to use for generating discussion. Highly recommended for those who also believe in Yamada's values.

moviexclusive Cinephiles will tell you about the greatness of Tokyo Story, a 1953 Japanese film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. The story about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children, only to have them being too busy to pay them much attention, is regarded as one of the most poignant tales ever told on screen. And as with every remarkable piece of work, there is a need to introduce it to a wider audience, hence the contemporary filmmakers' decision to produce Tokyo Family, an interpretation which you can either define as a remake, a tribute or an update.Yoji Yamada (The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade) takes on this story and gives it a relatable angle to today's viewers. The plot is identical to the classic: An old couple from an isolated part of Japan takes the train to Tokyo to spend time with their grown children, not expecting them to be too occupied and indifferent to host them. A tragic death reunites the family in a quiet country town and has them coming to terms with how they have drifted apart because of selfishness.Made 60 years after the premiere of Tokyo Story and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the respected Ozu's death, this 146 minute film serves as a kind reminder of the importance of family ties. This is especially current in today's society, considering how new media and social expectations have changed how family members interact with each other. With that said, Yamada's latest work does not seem to offer anything refreshing. That is nothing surprising though, considering how Yamada was an assistant director of the earlier film. The 1954 graduate of Tokyo University painstakingly attempts to replicate the style of the original, from its slow pacing to how important events are revealed in dialogue instead of being shown on screen. Those who have watched the original (a large group would probably be film students) may find this version uninspiring, and the younger ones may find their patience being tested with the unhurried storytelling. However, do not let this make you feel that this is an unimportant piece of work. There are still pertinent themes which we as children ought to understand in this evergreen tale. There are times you know how things should work, but nothing works better than a screen visualisation to remind you of how things should be. There is strong acting from the cast here – Isao Hashizume and Kazuko Yoshiyuki shine in their roles as the unassuming parents who travel to bustling Tokyo from their quiet home on a small island, Masahiko Nishimura's unassuming screen presence gets to you as he plays a GP who runs a clinic from his home, Tomoko Nakajima flaunts her chops as a busy beauty parlour manager, while the charismatic Satoshi Tsumabuki takes on the role of the youngest son who is a freelance stagehand. Each member of the ensemble cast plays his or her character without outshining each other, and gives ample room for performance in the film's many key scenes. While Tokyo Family may not go down film history as a classic, it is still a commendable piece of work worth your time – if you are willing to sit down and appreciate life's slower moments.

Harry T. Yung "Tokyo Monogatari" (1953) has purportedly been considered to be master auteur Yasujiro Ozu's own favorite, and by many others as his greatest. It takes a director with the caliber of Yoji Yamada ("Twilight samurai") to dare a remake. "Tokyo Monogatari" has been held so deep and dear in the hearts of many film lovers that a remake can almost be consider sacrilege. I confess to the fact that watching "Tokyo kazoku" (2013), I was asking myself "What's the point?" That is, until near to the end, when it suddenly clicked as I saw what Yamada is doing. Ozu is inimitable. "Tokyo Monogatari" is not remarkable. Yamada's work, however, is not so much a remake as an update.The backdrops are markedly different. The post-war world in "Tokyo Monogatari" is gloomy and depressing. "Tokyo kazoku" is set in today's post-IT-revolution world, with cell phone and all. The modern-day mood is familiar to us, excitement but also alienation in a modern world-class city. People are in general less subtle and more expressive.While not a shot-for-shot remake (say, as "Psycho") "Tokyo kazoku" generally follows "Tokyo Monogatari" very closely, particularly in the dialogue. However, there are some significant changes. One of the cleverest things I find is how Yamada uses the same dialogue and situation on the altered characters and scenarios. I'll come to that later.Let me to quote from a film critic: Long before the term "generation gap" was coined Ozu probed it profoundly. The central theme in Ozu's mind is the relationship between parents and children. This is also very much the case of Yamada. The two couples, the eldest son and daughter and their respective spouses, are very similar to their original counterpart. In both, the doctor and his kindly wife are left intentionally underdeveloped, so as not to overcrowd the film. The daughter is as attention-grabbing as in the original, compelling a question whether she is being selfish or just practical. Her husband has been given a little more of a comic relief role. One change, somewhat insignificant, is replacing the youngest daughter (back in the village) with the neighbor's daughter.The most significant change is on the two "single" young people. In the original, these two are the third son and the widow of the second son (who died during the war). In the remake, there is no third son, while the second son is not dead. This second son actually takes on the persona of the third son in the original – young and impatient. Obviously there is no longer a widow and the character is replaced by the second son's girlfriend, who has acquired the widow's name Noriko. With these changes comes the "something to offer" I cited in my summary line.One change is the introduction of the "Boromir/Faramir complex" which to "The Lord of the Rings" devotees would be quite obvious. It's the situation in which the father lopsidedly favors the older son, and is forever critical of the younger. In this case, the favoritism seems almost justifiable as the older son is a medical doctor (albeit not particularly distinguished) while the younger is sort of a drifter. Still, it's also the same old generation gap - just more acutely brought out.The biggest change, however, is in the woman. Old Noriko approaches being angelic, steadfastly maintaining her loyalty although her husband has been dead for 8 years. Her role in the film is pivotal. New Noriko has less of a role to play and yet it is a rather important role. In the final scenes, when they were on a ferry leaving the island, she is instrumental to a subtle reconciliation as she intimates to her boyfriend that his father wasn't really thinking badly of him after all. "He asked me to take care of you", she tells him. This is how it happened: the scene between the father and Noriko - how the same dialogue and situation is used for two very different scenarios. In the original, the father was thanking Noriko, repeating to her what the mother said about the time she spent with Noriko being the best time she had in Tokyo. He then gave Noriko the watch that the deceased mother left behind. This scene crystallized the almost saintly self-sacrifice of a widow of 8 years.The scene is repeated almost exactly with the new Noriko, but in an entirely different scenario. Here, the young girlfriend, although nice and tolerant all along, is not above occasional grumbles to her boyfriend about the outwardly cold, aloof and taciturn father. This is the "updating" I mentioned earlier. In today's world, one as angelic as the old Noriko would be a little removed from reality. The new Noriko is in fact more "human", someone we can relate to. It's the same scene with almost the exact same details, with just one difference. The new Noriko, upon realizing that the old man is after all kind and considerate, protests that she is not really as good as he describes, and breaks into sobs. Both scenes, old an new, are the most touching in the film, but in different ways.The old Noriko was played by legendary Setsuko Hara who will always remain one of the best loved actresses in Japan. The new Noriko is played by Yu Aoi, whose charm has been more than adequately demonstrated to those who have watched her in "Hana to Arisu' (2004) and "Flowers" (2010), just to name two of her many screen performances.