Tokyo Sonata
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s new drama, Tokyo Sonata, is a chilly portrait of contemporary familial life in Japan. Known for his horror films (Retribution, Pulse, Charisma), Kurosawa here injects a nightmarish separation between members of the Sasaki family, for a film that is psychically horrific but not at all fantasy-based. In it, the Sasakis unravel after father, Ryuhei (Teruyuki Kagawa), loses his job and continues to feign employment as he heads out each morning in suit, tie, and briefcase. Housewife Megumi (Kyoko Koizumi), suspects his lie, but struggles herself with their jaded teenager, Takashi (Yu Koyanagi), and her young, shy son, Kenji (Kai Inowaki), who resorts to secret piano lessons for creative outlet in a family where it is strictly forbidden by the father. As everyone senses Ryuhei’s deception and rebels increasingly against his hypocrisy, the viewer begins to understand how vital honesty is in a household. Tokyo Sonata is a wonderful example of new realism in Japanese cinema; dialogue and pacing feels as true as Yasuhiro Ozu’s family dramas. There are lovely shots throughout, many through glass sliding doors and windshields, where landscapes are reflected over character close-ups, in what appears to be natural lighting. Most importantly, Tokyo Sonata, though slow in parts, has a sense of humor. Ryuhei’s unemployed friend, Kurosu (Kanji Tsuda), has an elaborate cover-up for his joblessness that includes physical comedy, like when he fumbles to answer fake business calls on his cell phone “five times per hour.” Moments like these transform depictions of what would be unbearably pathetic circumstances into entertainment. –Trinie Dalton
