:: IFFK 2008 ::

Tokyo Sonata, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, was screened at the 13th IFFK 2008 in the World Cinema category. The film is a powerful family drama probing the dark territories existing in families. Kurosawa exposes, develops and recapitulates the issue, providing it with a transnational identity.

Sasaki, a man at his elemental best when ordering about everyone, finds one morning that he has been laid off from the job he was very proud of. The shock is so profound that he tries to hide the truth from his family and begins to act as if nothing has changed outwardly. The tension builds up, making the whole family masquerade in deception, tragically losing touch with each other.

The film is a poignant reflection of the uncertainty and dejection spreading among the people of Japan. The unemployment dilemma aggravated through outsourcing is dealt with throughout the film in a subtle way. The library where Sasaki whiles away his time is filled with similar people, a clear indication of the gravity of the problem. The same unemployment forces young Japanese men to join the American army and to fight under the Americans.

Kurosawa delves deep into the ugliness and darkness affecting the family. The monosyllables uttered at the dinner table, even with the whole family assembled together, show emotional detachment and loneliness. Monetary loss has led to the disintegration of relationships and crisis, which luckily forces the family to rethink the situation and to start over.

A typical Japanese situation portrayed in a rich, funny way, prompting the viewers to reflect on their life and to start all over if the situation so demands.