Tokyo Boshoku

Against the backdrop of a cold, shady Tokyo and its dimly lit interiors and shabby mah-jongg parlors, they are impossible to overlook: the wounds carried by the sisters Takako (Setsuko Hara) and Akiko (Ineko Arima) – one unhappily married, the other pregnant by an irresponsible student. For his part, their father hides behind a veneer of composure and sternness. Various circumstances bring the three back together under one roof, yet the centrifugal forces of family conflicts and personal problems cannot be contained. The situation comes to a dramatic head when the mother reappears after decades of absence. TOKYO BOSHOKU occupies an unusually somber place within Ozu’s body of work, just as the role of the rebellious Akiko stands out among Ozu’s cast of characters. Akiko is “the wild one”: desperate, confrontational, lonely, prone to physical outbursts and given illumination by Ineko Arima with nuance and emotional depth. (mg)