Tokyo Boshoku

Against the backdrop of shady, cold Tokyo, twilight interiors and shabby mahjong parlors, they are obvious: The injuries of sisters Takako (Setsuko Hara) and Akiko (Ineko Arima), one unhappily married, the other pregnant by an irresponsible student. The father of the two, in turn, entrenches himself behind content and strictness. Various circumstances bring the three together again under one roof, but the centrifugal forces of family conflicts and personal problems cannot be contained. The situation worsens dramatically when the mother steps onto the scene after decades of absence. TOKYO BOSHOKU occupies an unusually dark place in Ozu's oeuvre, and the role of the resistant Akiko also stands out from Ozu's personal panel. Akiko is “the wild one”: desperate, confrontational, lonely, tangible, nuanced by Ineko Arima and illuminated with emotional depth. (mg)