TOKYO SONATA

Ryuhei loses his job in a wave of layoffs and keeps it from his family; every morning he leaves the house as usual, in a suit, briefcase in hand. His wife Megumi knows it is up to her to hold the family together, and cannot find the strength to do so. Their elder son Takashi sees no future in Japan and rarely comes home any more; the younger, Kenji, secretly takes piano lessons. A single, unforeseen crack has opened up in this seemingly ordinary family, and it spreads quietly and quickly. “Tokyo Sonata” (Japan 2008) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa watches it drive them apart.

Kurosawa tells this portrait of a family in crisis with great calm and a feel for the moments when the facade no longer holds. At Cannes, “Tokyo Sonata” won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section in 2008. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2009.

Shown at the 2009 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2009 · Film Archive