Japanese Classics: Tokyo Story

A profoundly stirring evocation of elemental humanity and universal heartbreak, Tokyo Story is director Yasujiro Ozu’s crowning achievement. The film, which follows an aging couple’s journey to visit their grown children in bustling postwar Tokyo, surveys the rich and complex world of family life with the director’s customary delicacy and incisive perspective on social mores. Featuring lovely performances from Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, Tokyo Story plumbs the director’s recurring theme of generational conflict, creating what is without question one of cinema’s mightiest masterpieces. Description by Janus Films. (Dir.: Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1953, 137 min., B&W, DCP or 35mm, Japanese with English subtitles)