Tokyo Story (1953) on Netflix
Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama leave Onomichi to visit their grown children in Tokyo. Their son Koichi and daughter Shige are busy, so their widowed daughter-in-law Noriko makes time for them.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb8.1/1078,858 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Shukichi Hirayama and his wife Tomi live in Onomichi with their youngest daughter, Kyôko, a schoolteacher. Four of their adult children are living in Tokyo, so the couple takes the train to see them. The eldest, Koichi Hirayama, runs a small clinic, and his sister Shige Kaneko keeps a hairdressing salon. Both are busy and have little time for their parents. Noriko Hirayama, widow of the couple's son Shoji, takes time from her office job to show them around the city.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Tokyo Story (1953)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tokyo Story topped the 2012 Sight & Sound poll of film directors, receiving 48 votes from the 358 directors polled, after placing 17th in 1992 and tied at 16th in 2002.
- Tokyo Story was loosely inspired by Leo McCarey's 1937 American film Make Way for Tomorrow; Ozu's long-time collaborator Noda suggested its plot to Ozu, who had never seen it, remembering it from its Japanese release.
- Ozu kept the camera low and almost motionless, at a height suggesting a person seated on a tatami mat; Roger Ebert noted it moves just once in the film, which he called "more than usual" for an Ozu film.
- In 1958, Tokyo Story became the first winner of the Sutherland Trophy, given for the most original and creative film.
