Synopsis
Middle-aged banker Sugiyama presides over a troubled
household. His eldest daughter Takako has returned
home with her baby girl following a rift with
her alcoholic, abusive husband. The younger daughter,
Akiko, has an unwanted pregnancy, and searches
in vain in Tokyo's seedier quarters for her boyfriend
Kenji. In a matter of days, Akiko goes through
police detention, an abortion and a fraught reunion
with her long-lost mother. The discovery that
she had run off with her father's subordinate
proves too much for her, and she commits suicide.
After her death, Takako decides to have another
go at her marriage for her daughter's sake. Sugiyama
is left alone in his house.
Thoughts from Ozu Although the film had been said to be about
a young woman's transgression, for me, the emphasis
was first and foremost on Ryu Chishu's life -
how a man whose wife has deserted him would cope.
The focus was directed at the older generation.
As for the younger generation, it merely served
as parallel. However, most people only had eyes
for what was intended as embellishment on the
main theme.
Background
The
48th film, shot from January to April 1957. After
Early Spring, Ozu wanted to use a scenario
that he had written about 20 years before. It
had been filmed by Uchida Tomu, and the resulting
Unending Advance (Kagirinaki zenshin,
1937) was highly appraised, but was probably different
from Ozu's own intentions. This scenario was considered
as too sad. Finally Tokyo Twilight was
made, but this film is even more melancholic.
Apart from his very first films, Ozu always depicted
the life of the family. However, probably not
the typical Japanese. He Seldom showed a family
of three generations living together in his pre-war
films, although this was quite usual at that time.
(Ozu's family structure during the time at Fukagawa
was the same.) Buddhist and Shintoist altars,
that existed in almost every household, almost
never appear in his films. Moreover, his families
are often incomplete, lacking a member. Father
and son(s), brother(s) and sister(s), father and
daughter(s) and so on. Even in Early Summer,
one son died at war, and the couple in Early
Spring has lost its baby. These incomplete
families continue to exist until Ozu's very last
film. However, the circumstances of the missing
members are not investigated in the film. Therefore,
a film that centers on these very circumstances
can be considered as very unusual. This film is
Tokyo Twilight. The scene is set in a house
around Zoshigaya in Tokyo, yet another different
form of "uptown". One daughter returns
home because of he marriage problems, and the
other daughter moves in inappropriate circles.
However, this family lacks the mother. Slowly,
the story reveals that she had run away with a
man and now runs a mahjong salon on Gotanda. The
presence (and at the same time absence) of the
mother throws a dark shade on the other family
members' lives, reminding us of East of Eden
(1955) which was very popular at that time. The
unhappy relation of father and mother (man and
woman) is represented by the confrontation and
tension between Zoshigawa and Gotanda, that is
between "uptown" and the old quarters
shitamachi. The daughter is torn between these
two places and finally destroyed din between.
In appearance, the film seems to criticize the
dissipated life of the youth, but behind this
actual plot, it involves a conceptual theme, as
if representing a clash in Ozu's inner feelings.
Maybe for this reason, Noda had arguments with
Ozu during the screenplay writing, and opposed
the completed film. Despite Ozu's self-confidence,
Tokyo Twilight is generally considered
as a failure among his works.
Personal
Thoughts and Comments Tokyo Twilight is again reminiscent of
Ozu's quintessential post-war themes and minimalist
style that made him one of the greatest filmmakers
of all-time. His trademarks are again evident
here but in a much darker way then any other Ozu
film. From the grim opening shots of the film,
Tokyo Twilight establishes it's dark tone.
Themes of marriage, isolation, and parent/child
communication (or lack there of) are again expressed
through Ozu's masterful cinematic language and
trademark visual compositions and cast. Tokyo
Twilight carries a pessimism and despair with
issues of death, abortion, and adultery that make
it Ozu's darkest film. Fittingly Tokyo Twilight
is the last black and white film Ozu made before
moving to color with his 1958 film Equinox
Flower. Ozu-regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko
Hara are once again outstanding as the single
father and elder sister, and the film features
a fine performance from Ineko Arima, who was starring
in her first film for Ozu (he would cast her again
in his next film). As usual Hara is especially
terrific, here as the sister who's emotions are
torn. Under Ozu direction, Hara has such an ability
at capturing the most complex emotions through
the smallest of gestures. Tokyo Twilight
is a masterpiece achievement from one of the very
greatest filmmakers in the world of cinema. To
me this rates among the best films Ozu ever made.
