The Gown Student Newspaper at Queen's University Belfast

REVIEW: Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story is a film which enjoys perhaps the highest critical acclaim of any film. As I sat down to watch it, I imagined it would be so inherently likable that I would have to agree with all the critics. I was wrong.

BY CATHAL McGUIGAN

www.queensfilmtheatre.com

Tokyo Story follows an elderly couple who visit their grown children in Tokyo. Their children have little time for them, as they are busy with work, or their own children. The children pay for their parents to stay at a spa at Atami. Yet, they find this place too noisy and decide it is for the younger generation. Feeling that they are a burden, they make their excuses and go home.

I felt the film depicted a transitional period in Japan. The traditional emphasis on family values and respect are fading while modern Japan is coming into focus, the hyper-competitive, capitalist Japan that we see today. This is shown through the lack of respect the children show their parents and the contrast of the elderly couple’s rural home with the growing industry of Tokyo.

The film has been listed as of the greatest films ever made, it is widely acclaimed from its place in Roger Ebert’s great movie list to its 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet for me, it was honestly the most boring film I have ever seen.

Next to nothing happened, some people went to sleep, some men got drunk, a woman borrowed some things from another woman. I have a personal hatred of social realism. I dislike seeing a film filled with moments which I could see for myself on a bus, or in a particularly long queue. The film, in my view, lacked any form of story and its emphasis on everyday life and the mundane almost put me to sleep.

You might say I’m judging this from a purely Western perspective, yet I can name several Asian films which I feel are much, much better. For example, South Korea’s international hit ‘Oldboy’ or practically anything by Akira Kurosawa. You might accuse me of being a philistine, who as a victim of the Tarantino generation, is a fan of purely action films. At least something happens in them.  In ‘Tokyo Story’, nothing particularly out of the ordinary happens until maybe the last 10 minutes of its 2 hours 15 minutes.

Nothing happens in Waiting for Godot but at least there’s some lively conversation. About 90% of Tokyo Story was made up of the Japanese equivalent of people saying “Aye”.

“Mother is very sick.”

“Aye.”

“You should remarry and forget our dead son.”

“Aye.”

You may think that I am simply stirring up controversy against what must obviously be a good film. I’m perfectly willing to concede that my review is only my personal opinion. Yet, I think if you watch this you will be just as bored as I was.

Go and see it if you must. But if it is at all possible, find a good Kurosawa film, like Yojimbo, Ran or Dreams. You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Cathal McGuigan, Gown, newspaper, QFT, qub, Queen's, queen's university, student, The Gown, Tokyo Story

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Arts + Ents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.