Tokyo Twilight
Encyclopedia
is a 1957 film by Yasujirō Ozu
. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar films.
) is a young college graduate girl learning English shorthand
. Her elder sister Takako (Setsuko Hara
), running away from an unhappy marriage, has returned home to stay with Akiko and their father Shukichi (Chishu Ryu
) in Tokyo
, together with her toddler girl. Akiko has a relationship with her college boyfriend Kenji, which results in an unwanted pregnancy. Later, Akiko has an abortion
after an encounter in which she realizes that her boyfriend does not love her.
While going to a mahjong
parlour to look for Kenji, Akiko comes across its proprietress Kisako (Isuzu Yamada
), who seems to know a lot about her family. Back at home, Takako hears about Kisako from Akiko, and pieces together the fact that she is their long-lost mother. Takako visits the parlour to ask Kisako not to reveal to Akiko who she really is – but the plan backfires. Akiko learns of her visit and goes to confront Takako. Takako then discloses to her Kisako is their mother, who has run away with another man when Akiko was still a toddler. Shaken, Akiko goes to confront Kisako to ask if she is the daughter of her father. She leaves in a huff, angered by Kisako abandoning her as a child, then goes to a Chinese noodle shop for some sake. Her boyfriend Kenji enters, and the two has a tiff. Akiko leaves angrily, but is hit by a train at an intersection just outside the shop.
Akiko is badly injured and she expresses the wish to live and start life over again in the presence of her father and sister. In the next scene however, in one of Ozu's famous ellipses
, a bitter Takako goes to visit her mother to tell her the news of Akiko's death. Kisako is distraught, and agrees with her new husband that she will leave Tokyo for his new assignment. She goes to the Sugiyamas to offer her last condolences, and to tell Takako of her decision. Unfortunately, Takako does not go to send her off at the railway station.
In the last scene of the film, Takako reveals to her father that she is going back to her husband to try to make their marriage work again. She does not want her toddler daughter to follow in the path of Akiko, who lacked the love of one parent. Shukuchi agrees with her decision.
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Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar films.
Synopsis
Akiko Sugiyama (Ineko ArimaIneko Arima
Ineko Arima was a Japanese film actress born in 1932 in Osaka. She is best known for her work with director Yasujiro Ozu-Selected filmography:* Black River * Tokyo Twilight...
) is a young college graduate girl learning English shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
. Her elder sister Takako (Setsuko Hara
Setsuko Hara
is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田 昌江 Masae Aida in...
), running away from an unhappy marriage, has returned home to stay with Akiko and their father Shukichi (Chishu Ryu
Chishu Ryu
was a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand...
) in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, together with her toddler girl. Akiko has a relationship with her college boyfriend Kenji, which results in an unwanted pregnancy. Later, Akiko has an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
after an encounter in which she realizes that her boyfriend does not love her.
While going to a mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
parlour to look for Kenji, Akiko comes across its proprietress Kisako (Isuzu Yamada
Isuzu Yamada
is a Japanese actress on stage and screen whose career has spanned eight decades.-Career:Yamada was born in Osaka with the name Mitsu Yamada. Her father, Kusuo Yamada, was a shinpa stage actor specializing in onnagata roles and her mother, Ritsu, was a geisha...
), who seems to know a lot about her family. Back at home, Takako hears about Kisako from Akiko, and pieces together the fact that she is their long-lost mother. Takako visits the parlour to ask Kisako not to reveal to Akiko who she really is – but the plan backfires. Akiko learns of her visit and goes to confront Takako. Takako then discloses to her Kisako is their mother, who has run away with another man when Akiko was still a toddler. Shaken, Akiko goes to confront Kisako to ask if she is the daughter of her father. She leaves in a huff, angered by Kisako abandoning her as a child, then goes to a Chinese noodle shop for some sake. Her boyfriend Kenji enters, and the two has a tiff. Akiko leaves angrily, but is hit by a train at an intersection just outside the shop.
Akiko is badly injured and she expresses the wish to live and start life over again in the presence of her father and sister. In the next scene however, in one of Ozu's famous ellipses
Ellipsis (narrative device)
Ellipsis is the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.An ellipsis in narrative leaves out a portion of the story. This can be used to condense time, or as a stylistic method to allow the reader to fill in the missing...
, a bitter Takako goes to visit her mother to tell her the news of Akiko's death. Kisako is distraught, and agrees with her new husband that she will leave Tokyo for his new assignment. She goes to the Sugiyamas to offer her last condolences, and to tell Takako of her decision. Unfortunately, Takako does not go to send her off at the railway station.
In the last scene of the film, Takako reveals to her father that she is going back to her husband to try to make their marriage work again. She does not want her toddler daughter to follow in the path of Akiko, who lacked the love of one parent. Shukuchi agrees with her decision.
External links
- Tōkyō boshoku|accessdate=2008-06-22|language=Japanese|publisher=Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie Database
The , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...
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