I just came back from a screening of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's new movie, Tokyo Sonata. It's a two-hour drama about a middle-class Japanese family of four. Their stories unravel after the father loses his job and doesn't tell anyone. Kurosawa is most famous as a horror film director (Pulse, Cure) but he said when introducing Tokyo Sonata at the SFIAAFF screening today that this look at some harsh realities of Japanese family life might just be scarier. I have to agree with him. The awkwardness between husband and wife, mother and son; the inability to speak out against an unreasonable, abusive father; the shame that prevents family members from telling each other the truth; these things ARE really frightening. And Kurosawa uses horror film-like cuts and lighting in several scenes that make it feel even scarier. It works. The movie is great, and will be showing in SF area theaters starting later this month. It's also showing tomorrow night @ 6PM at Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive.
« Toilet makes you want to do a super ski jump | Main | Video: The manner mode pen, and why Japan makes seemingly useless gadgets »
March 14, 2009
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c5d3253ef0112796800c228a4
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Tokyo Sonata, a great, depressing film about Japanese family life:
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
About
My Bio
- I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.
In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.
Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!
Follow me on Twitter
Become a Facebook Fan
Read some of my published magazine stories
Send tips to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com
MY BOOK
- My book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan, was published in April 2008. Get it now!
TokyoMango on Twitter
Recent Posts
- Today is A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
- Beautiful bright red bags made of fishermen's rope
- Mitsuru Koga's cool art using color pencils
- WE ARE ALL RADIOACTIVE: EPISODE 3
- The Salaryman Project, a collection of pretty photos of Japanese businessmen
- WE ARE ALL RADIOACTIVE: EPISODE 2
- WE ARE ALL RADIOACTIVE: EPISODE 1
- 48 different kinds of ojisan
- Sad cigarette ghost encourages people to smoke in designated areas
- Compilation of funny dubbed Hot Pepper commercials
Truly, no quality of life here. I really feel sorry for the locals - they're trapped.
Posted by: Mike_R | March 14, 2009 at 02:06 AM
saw this film earlier in japan, indeed does a great job in capturing the scary realities of japan's current economy combined with how a typical japanese family works.
Posted by: Jay | March 14, 2009 at 05:04 AM
Interesting. I will watch it if it is still showing in Japan.
Posted by: Naoki Chiba | March 15, 2009 at 01:10 PM
It is showing in Osaka, Japan (My hometown). Sunday March 21 10am.
http://www.ccosaka.org/ocf09_films.html
Posted by: Naoki Chiba | March 15, 2009 at 01:13 PM
I loved this film...Kiyoshi Kurosawa is such an excellent director. Highly recommended to anyone who has eyes and ears.
Posted by: burnsuburbia | April 11, 2009 at 06:18 PM