Tokyo Story

I cried a lot watching Tokyo Story, my heart unravelling with the film.

The way Ozu does it is masterful.

There is always this sense that you can’t know what to expect next.

A tension that clings to your skin even though everything seems normal.

The cinematography is beautiful to the point of making me jealous – perfect black and white tones and a low, watchful camera angle.

So simple you fall in love.

And through the screen, Ozu somehow makes you taste summer.

I don’t want to write too much in case you haven’t seen it.

This is a film about elemental humanity and universal human emotions, and after 70 years, it still resonates.

It will probably resonate for as long as we still want to watch films.

Now I understand why they say this is Ozu’s masterpiece and also the film that Wim Wenders said has had a life-long pull on him.

I went down the rabbit hole and realised that Wim Wenders was so obsessed he went to the small coastal town where ‘the story begins and ends’ and made a book. I love it. The coolest coincidence? I’m going to Japan in a couple of weeks and I was planning to visit Onomichi!