Movie Review: 東京家族 (2013) Tokyo Family

The Hirayamas

Introduction: "Tokyo Kazoku" (2013) is a remake of an older film called "Tokyo Monogatari" (1953), the story of an elderly couple visiting their children in Tokyo. The setting of the movie was changed to 2012 to fit today's modern Tokyo.

I first heard about the film back in December of 2012, when I used to attend an English conversation club for "shakaijins" in Tokyo. Directed by Yamada Youji, the film was to mark the 50th anniversary of his career. (I guess that means he's a pretty well-known director) By bringing in many talented actors such as Hashizume Isao, Miyagawa Miki, Tsumabushi Satoshi, and having Hisaishi Joe compose the music score, "Tokyo Kazoku" (2013) was an ambitious project. All my fellow members of the English conversation club were very excited for its release. Naturally, as a big fan of J-cinema, I decided to check out the film myself. I'm going to be talking extensively about the film's plot, so if you don't want any spoilers, this is where you should stop reading.

<<<SPOILER ALERT>>>

Well, I didn't like the film very much. Actually, I did, but I couldn't help but think that the film could have been done much better. Pacing was slow, and supporting characters' acting felt awkward in many scenes. Because of that, I found it hard to sympathize with the characters' emotions. The movie spends an unfair amount of time developing the supporting roles, and not enough on the ones that really matter. In addition, the film jumps forward in time on multiple occasions without any explanation, leaving me wondering, "wait, what?" 

In the first half of the movie, we get introduced to the Hirayama family. The elderly parents, Shuukichi (Otousan) and Tomiko (Okaasan), ride on the shinkansen to visit their three children. The movie makes no mention about where they're coming from, but their dialect hints that they live in Hiroshima. (お父さん、待ち切れんっけ先行くってえね) Their youngest son, Shouji, misunderstands his sister Shigeko, and ends up waiting for them at the wrong station. Shuukichi decides he'd rather not wait for Shouji to pick them up, and heads to the eldest, Koichi's house on a taxi.

「ナビに入れたから大丈夫だよ、おばあちゃん」
Are taxi drivers always this angry?

Koichi's eldest son, Minoru, complains to his mother that his desk was moved to his brother's room, and asks why his grandparents cannot stay at a hotel instead. His mother scolds him for not being more understanding, and replies, "they're coming because they want to spend as much time with us as possible."

After Shuukichi and Tomiko arrive, we start to see the family dynamics. The smart and successful Koichi is a doctor. Shigeko owns a hair salon. However, the "freeter (フリーター)" Shouji declines to tell his father what his job is when asked. This is the first time we tension in the family. It is hinted that Shouji is still relying on his parents for financial support. Shuukichi is even a little surprised that Shouji came out to greet them at all. How old is Shouji? How often has Shouji asked them for help? Will the movie give us more insight into the relationship between Shouji and his parents? At the dinner table, while talking about his passed-away friends, Shuukichi says he would feel much happier if he died before Tomiko. 

At Koichi's place. From the left, Koichi, Shuukichi, Isamu, Tomiko, and Shouji.

The movie then moves on to focus on the details of the parents' stay in Tokyo. After receiving an urgent call from one of his patients, Koichi calls off his plan to show his parents around Tokyo. Stuck at home in a suit and kimono, Shuukichi and Tomiko seem to show no discontent at the sudden change of plans. "Busy is good," says Shuukichi. Koichi's youngest son, Isamu, is the only one who is upset. "Dad always says 'we'll go next time,' but we never actually get to go anywhere," says Isamu. Tomiko offers to take him outside for a stroll. For the next five minutes, we see Tomiko and Isamu having a casual chat. She asks him if he wants to become a doctor like his father when he grows up. He replies, "But I'm not smart." She then tries to encourage him by saying, "Your father was not very smart at first either, but he studied very hard and got into med school." She is further disappointed when Isamu says, "I can't." What purpose does their dialogue serve? What connection does their conversation have to the main plot? What is the main plot here anyway? It's been 30 minutes into the movie, and I still have yet to find out what the real conflict in the movie is.

Tomiko obaachan and Isamu

Next, we are introduced to Shigeko's household. We also find out that a few days have past since the parents' arrival, but they have yet to visit anywhere. On top of that, it's raining, so they're stuck at Shigeko's house for the whole day. Shigeko's husband complains that he finds her father difficult because he used to be a high school teacher. In the next scene, we see him awkwardly trying to be friendly to the stoic Shuukichi. Shigeko's husband suggests they go to a nearby onsen. Shuukichi half-heartedly agrees. What do they talk about at the onsen? How does Shigeko's husband try to deal with Shuukichi's indifferent attitude? Unfortunately, we'll never find out because the movie never shows us.

Shigeko and her husband

A common mistake many movies make is when they force one of their characters to state the status quo, and they expect the viewers to take it ipso facto. Just because Shigeko's husband says he's uncomfortable around Shuukichi doesn't mean the viewers are willing to accept it right away. The movie should take some time to show us why Shuukichi is uncomfortable to be with. Give us a dialogue. Show us their interaction with each other. Only by interacting with other characters will we ever get more insight about their personalities. 

I also made that face when I first visited Akihabara

Shigeko calls Shouji to ask if he can show their parents around the next day. He has to work a late-night shift the day before, but he reluctantly agrees. After taking them on a tour bus to see the famous places such as Akihabara and Sky Tree, they sit down at a restaurant for food. Shuukichi asks his son again what he does for a living. We can see the frustration and discomfort in Shouji's face. He works part-time as backstage crew. He tries to explain to his father what working backstage is, but Shuukichi is more interested about what he plans to do in the future. "What will you do five years later? Ten years later?" he asks. Shouji doesn't want to talk about it. He leaves to take a phone call. Shuukichi complains to Tomiko that Shouji never listens, but puts half of his food on Shouji's plate.

Koichi and Shigeko decide that their parents will be better off staying at a hotel rather than their own place. (Oh, the irony) But this also allows us to see more interaction between Shuukichi and Tomiko. I liked gaining more insight about the relationship between the parents at the children by watching the dialogue between Shuukichi and Tomiko. They spend all morning watching ocean waves and strolling in front of their hotel. Without the company of their family, they feel abandoned and lost. Shuukichi talks about their children, and complains that they've changed. They discuss how they brought up each child, and Tomiko gently points out that he was particularly harsh on Shouji, unreasonably at times. However, they decide that being together with family is best after all, and check out from the hotel. Tomiko decides to go visit Shouji at his apartment while Shuukichi visits his friend. Shortly after they get up from the seashore,Tomiko staggers and collapses, but shrugs it off, saying it happens sometimes. 

How off-place and insignificant they must feel

Back at his own apartment, Shouji invites his girlfriend to come over to introduce to his mother. We're finally introduced to the last main character, Noriko, played by graceful and beautiful Aoi Yu. Gosh, about time. 

After a brief introduction, it's clear that Tomiko already likes Noriko. She compliments her for having, well, a "good first impression." The movie then thinks it's a good idea to cut to Shuukichi getting drunk with his old friend without showing us any real dialogue. Are we supposed to assume that they had a lovely time together? What did you talk about? Was it so good that you can't share any of it with us?? Why??? Stop doing this to us! We finally get a little bit of their sweet family time when Shouji explains how they met to Tomiko, and that he wants to marry her, but only after Noriko takes her leave. Isn't that more likely to come up while they're together? Shouldn't that be like the first thing Shouji's mother wants to know about this woman who showed up out of the blue? Shouji wants his mother to tell his father about Noriko, but she refuses. Tomiko says if Shouji really cares about Noriko, then he should tell his father himself, but she would be there to support him. 

Noriko and Shouji

The next morning, the elderly couple rendezvous back at Koichi's house. Shuukichi is recovering from a rough night of drinking, while Tomiko walks in giddily, smiling like a child. She must have had a real fun time at Shouji's apartment. Gee, it would have been really cool if they could share the experience with us. But she's not telling anyone. Not even us, the viewers. She's just smiling, saying "I'm so glad I went. He's doing quite well." Even Koichi's wife thinks she's acting funny. She asks about last night, but Tomiko won't spill any beans. She replies with, "I'm glad I came to Tokyo." She turns to her husband and teases, "Oh, how shall I explain this to you," and turns to go upstairs. Unfortunately, Tomiko never gets a chance to tell them anything, as she has a heart attack and collapses on the stairs right afterwards.

Tomiko is hurried away to a nearby hospital, and the whole family is summoned before her bed, but Shouji is nowhere to be seen. Why is he late? The movie never explains. It's hinted that he was late because of work. Did he even try to get off earlier? If he did, wouldn't the director want to show us how devastated he really was, more so because he couldn't go to the hospital right away? Yet again, here is Yamada Youji leaving unexplained loose ends of the story to the viewers' imagination. 

「おしまいか。。。」

Shouji finally shows up after a while, but decides that it'd be a good idea to bring Noriko inside with him. Even if he didn't know at the time how serious her condition was, that's a pretty stupid idea. If I were his older brother or father, I'd be pretty pissed. Shouji then soon realizes that his mother is about to pass away, and tells everyone how Tomiko promised she would be there for him when he tells his father that he wants to get married with Noriko, but now she can't. Tomiko passes away the following morning.

The Hirayamas then travel back to Hiroshima, where they hold the funeral for Tomiko. Noriko follows and helps out. The family compliments on how nice she is. They seem to hold a high opinion of her, even though the movie does not really show them interacting with each other... The father does not say anything. Koichi and Shigeko are worried about their father having to live alone. Koichi asks him to move in with him, but Shuukichi firmly refuses. Koichi and Shigeko go back to Tokyo shortly after, leaving Shouji and Noriko to help his father for the next few days.

「東京には二度と行かん！」
I will never go to Tokyo again!

Nearing the end of the film, I start to see the real potential of this movie. Will Shouji and Shuukichi finally reconcile with one another? What role will Noriko play in bridging the distance between the two of them? This is where the movie can finally shine some light on the protagonists' recurring conflict.

But no, for the nine millionth time, the movie jumps forward in time again. We are shown Shouji fixing the rooftop, and Noriko bringing out lunch for Shuukichi. Shouji and Noriko are planning to leave at one o' clock, but they have not told him yet. Shouji doesn't even want to say goodbye to his father himself ("I don't like saying goodbyes," he says), and asks Noriko to say it for him. What is he exactly afraid of? I get it, Shouji doesn't get along very well with his father, but disappearing without saying anything? That's a dick move. The reluctant Noriko announces their leave, and Shuukichi asks her to take a seat. In the following dialogue, we learn that Noriko and Shouji stayed for a few days, and that they didn't complain once. (but did Shouji even so much as talk to his father during those days? Again, we'll never know...) From watching his son interact with Noriko, he realizes that his son's most admirable trait is his kindness, and that with Noriko, his son may turn out to be a great man after all. That's what my wife must have meant as well, says Shuukichi. Then he thanks Noriko for allowing him to see his son in a positive light. The scene where Shuukichi asks Noriko to take care of his son and gives her his blessing is exceptionally well done. It draws genuine emotion from the viewers and finally brings resolve to the Hirayama family's story. 

And life stretches on, like the vast never-ending ocean...

All in all, "Tokyo Family" was not a bad film. There was some amazing cinematography, and great use of lighting and placing of the characters on-screen to reflect their mood. Movies like this heavily rely on the main protagonists' acting to succeed, and it did. Watching Shuukichi and Tomiko spending time together was a great joy, and the children played their roles right for the most part. There were also more subtle parts of the movie that revealed more depth about the main characters. 

However, the movie could have been made better by exploring deeper into the characters' inner turmoil. The movie could have focused more on the conflict between Shuukichi and Shouji. In the end, the viewers are told that the characters feel a little better, even though there was really no reconciliation between them. Noriko acting as a mediator between the two with her warm personality is one solution to resolve their conflict, but an easy one at that. The film could have shown us more interaction between Noriko, Shouji, and Shuukichi, and slowly transform the strict cold-hearted father to open up to the young couple. Only near the end do we get to listen to his thoughts. Time and again, there were scenes that told us to accept things as shown, instead of sharing us the experience and drawing out the viewers' own emotion. It is a much more rewarding experience to be shared what the characters on the screen go through, than to be told what they felt. 

Score: 6/10.