A profoundly stirring evocation of elemental humanity and universal heartbreak, TOKYO STORY is the crowning achievement of the unparalleled Yasujiro Ozu. The film, which follows an aging couple’s journey to visit their grown children in bustling postwar Tokyo, surveys the rich and complex world of family life with the director’s customary delicacy and incisive perspective on social mores. Featuring lovely performances from Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, TOKYO STORY plumbs and deepens the director’s recurring theme of generational conflict, creating what is without question one of cinema’s mightiest masterpieces.
Tim Blake Nelson
Feb 2024
1 streaming audio track
Commentary: David Desser
Streaming now, and why it pairs with this film
Paired by the Criterion Channel, both picked by Carl Franklin in the Criterion Closet, both on Top 10 lists by Aki Kaurismäki, Andrew Ahn and Ray Yeung, both directed by Yasujirō Ozu, and both starring Chishū Ryū, Haruko Sugimura and Setsuko Hara
Or
Picked by the Criterion Channel
1949
1952
1950
1958
1931
1985
via Criterion Collection
via Criterion Collection
