My first time seeing Tokyo Story, and my first time seeing any Ozu, really, but this is what seasons at the Watershed in January are fore.
Made in 1953, it’s striking how much of this is influenced in some way by the war, and the lasting psychic effects of it. It put me in mind of something Emily St. James wrote recently about watching It’s A Wonderful Life through that lens also, of what happens when these men come back from war and process that, not even consciously, in the films they make.
The scene where the father meets some old friends in a bar and reminisces about their past is strikingly real, oddly familiar. It also precipitates the moment that the facade somewhat crumbles, as he stumbles home drunk. Delightful.
There’s also a remarkable undercurrent of how much the parents are, even if unspoken, disappointed or let down by their children. It’s not really a thing that’s ever particularly addressed as much in cinema.
It’s not as perfect as the consensus would tend towards, but it does intrigue me and put me in mind to catch more of the Ozu season.