Noriko's apartment

 A scene: 

During the one-day trip in Tokyo, the couple finished their tour and ended up in their daughter-in-law’s, Noriko’s, house. However, Ozu did not show Noriko’s apartment but her neighbor’s apartment first. I would like to explain the meaning of Ozu’s setting the scene for the viewers in the neighbor's apartment. 


We talked about the comparison between Noriko’s house and her neighbor’s house in class. Their apartments have the same configuration but the neighbor’s apartment is out of kilter. In the neighbor's apartment, the baby takes up a large portion of the screen but when Noriko comes back and opens the door to her home, what she sees is a complete, well-composed family picture. The old couple, the husband and wife, stand on opposite sides flanking the picture of their dead son between them. It seems to be the first time we see something so balanced in the film. In their oldest son’s and second daughter’s houses, the proportionality of the composition is different. In the oldest son’s house, they are sitting at different angles and we cannot see the couple’s faces. In the second daughter’s house, we never see the whole family come together, there is always someone missing, or the couple always faces towards the windows. Therefore, we cannot get a well-balanced composition in the film. 


With these contrasts, my interpretation of Ozu’s giving an unbalanced opening setting in the neighbor's house, emphasizes Noriko’s house is one of equilibrium. If Ozu had filmed more about the entering of Noriko’s apartment, we would have seen people coming in and walking around. Entering the door, taking their shoes off, and walking around the apartment would not have given such a well-balanced picture. The frozen image of the couple and their son offers a well-balanced still shot. 


But why can’t Ozu present this balanced still shot in other houses? I think it is because the couple does not belong to their children’s family or they are not at the center of their children’s care. Only with the image of their child can the couple return to a balanced family. However, it is ironic because they can only maintain a balanced family via a frozen image in their memory. Moreover, their daughter-in-law, unrelated to them by blood, has the home of their family balance. 


    Also, the couple with the dead son's picture shows this peaceful moment. But balance and peace may only be attained beyond one's mortal life. This balance may hint the couple are marching forth towards death.

Comments

  1. HHNovember 7, 2021 at 9:03 AM

    I like your analysis of Noriko's apartment as a rare equilibrium. But I was also wondering if we could read equilibrium as stability and the unchanged? The neighbor's apartment does not have that sense of balance because of the presence of the baby, but it also implies to me change and momentum, and therefore, life in that room. When Noriko comes back to her apartment, her parents-in-law are waiting for her return. But on a normal day when she does not have visitors, she will be returning to a silent, unchanged and lonely room.

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  2. Krishnan VenkateshNovember 7, 2021 at 8:06 PM

    I agree with HH's concern: is equilibrium a good thing in Tokyo Story! -- or does it mean stasis? Koichi and Shife both resent their parents' visit because it upsets the daily equilibrium. Maybe it's good for equilibrium to be upset.

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