Tokyo Story

“Has there ever been a film more moving?” The Guardian

Sitting comfortably in the top five of the greatest films of all time in Sight & Sound’s poll of critics and directors, this closely observed family drama is one of the high watermarks of Japanese cinema. You cannot fail to be moved by this tale of the alienation possible between family members who have known each other their whole lives.

Mother and father Tomi and Shukishi make the long trip from their coastal home to the big city of Tokyo to visit their adult children. Yet they have little time for their parents when they arrive, leaving it to the widow of their youngest son – killed in the Second World War – to show them the city’s highlights.

Distinctly Japanese, yet somehow absolutely universal, this devastatingly poignant film is a great place to start with one of the world’s great national cinemas, as well as a deeply moving story of what separates us as humans and how we can heal our distance.