Silent . Black and White . 80 minutes

Shochiku Kamata Studio

Written By
Ozu Yasujiro
Ikeda Tadao
Arata Masao
Uinzato Mone (story)

Cinematography
Mohara Hideo

Music By
Horiuchi Keizo

Cast
Sakamoto Takeshi (Kihachi)
Tokkan Kozo (Zenko)
Suematsu Takayuki (Masako)
Okada Yoshiko (Otaka)
Ojima Kazuko (Kimiko)
Idia Choko (Otsune)
Ryu Chishu (Policeman)

Synopsis
Kihachi, a widower with two young sons, looks for a job in vain. They take up lodgings at the Manseikan Inn, where many others are in the same boat. Among them is Otaka, and her daughter Kimiko. The boys try to make money by eating stray dogs to obtain a police reward. Things start to look up when Kihachi meets an old friend Otsune, who finds him a job at the factory. Kihachi dreams of a new life that includes Otaka, but when Kimiko falls ill, he is driven to desperation and steals to help her. After entrusting his sons to Otsune, he turns himself in to the police.

Thoughts from Ozu
Around that time, I was making Kagamijishi, even though it was a documentary rather than a feature film. By that time, there was no place for silents anymore. Although An Inn in Tokyo was a silent film, I had no choice but to adopt the method of sound films. For example, in a conversation scene between two persons, I ventured to superimpose character A's lines on a close-up of character B.

Personal Thoughts and Comments
An Inn in Tokyo is Ozu's last and perhaps greatest silent film. The film is very reminiscent of the later Italian Neorealist films of the 1940s (notably Vittorio De Sica's masterpiece The Bicycle Thief) as well Ozu's 1933 film Passing Fancy) in it's simplistic yet powerful examination of the human condition amongst the struggles of the Depression (in this case pre-war Japan). Using a decaying Japanese environment as the visual surrounding, Ozu captures the very essence of human struggle, centering around a poor widowed father with two sons as well as a friend who is a widowed mother with a sick child. Faced with a moral conflict the man must make a decision that could effect his family. Equally beautiful and heartbreaking An Inn in Tokyo is a masterpiece.