Review of Tokyo Sonata (2008) by Benjamin F — 09 May 2010

This was my second experience with a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film, the first having been Bright Future. It's been a while since I saw Bright Future, but I can recall how surreal it was. Tokyo Sonata starts off in a very down to earth manner, but some of Kurosawa's strangeness bled in throughout the second half, making for an interesting, compelling film.

A family on the brink of disintegration! And then disintegrating. How will they survive!? This is hardly a new or unexplored place for film to explore. That said, when it's done well, this concept can make a great center for excellent, meaningful filmmaking. And it certainly works on that level in Tokyo Sonata.

Kurosawa brings out strong performances from the whole cast - there's not a bad performance from a single one of them. Each of their individual stories are compelling in their own way, though Takashi's feels underdeveloped and rather abruptly - though interestingly - concluded by the end. I would've liked to have seen more of his experiences and thinking away from the family. Some of the later story elements - like the kidnapping - didn't quite mesh perfectly with the rest of the film either, though their thematic contributions were valuable. Economic downturn destroys lives and brings out intense despair in this film. But the ending isn't as dark as you may suspect, and even if it doesn't quite work perfectly, it's beautiful in its execution - refreshingly lacking in the excessive sentimentality one comes to expect after watching enough Japanese films.

The cinematography and direction are consistently lovely throughout the film, with some excellent shots of Tokyo life, including many images of buildings falling apart on the outside. This, like the excellent though sparingly used original score, works to mirror the characters' frayed nerves. There's very few grounded characters in this. Everyone else is slowly breaking.

The ending feels slightly rushed by the time it rolls around, despite the low pace of the entire film. Kurosawa was obviously going for something huge here, and he didn't quite hit that mark - what he did leaves us with, however, is still a very good film in its own right.