Repression & Confrontation (Shweta)

    The more times I watch Tokyo Story, the more suffocated I feel. The frame that we view this movie in is not very wide and this prevents a feeling of openness. As the viewer, we either see close ups of characters, or crammed indoor spaces. The low camera angle adds to this feeling, and the lack of movement in the scenes places the viewer very rigidly in the lives on these characters. Along with this, any indoor spaces we are introduced to is always layered with a door or an object in the first layer which is usually out of focus. The rooms are full of many different patterns, boxes, and the space surrounding these characters itself feels heavy. The rigidity of the vertical lines drawn out by the doors and cupboards in these scenes is matched by the rigidity in the horizontal and layered way of sitting. This seating style sometimes leads to a specific character facing their back to the camera during a conversation. The expression of some characters are hidden in such scenes, and similarly, whenever the characters are facing something, we are not allowed a look into that. We don’t really see Tokyo when the characters are looking at the view, we see the backs of Tomi and Shukichi when they are homeless and facing the city, we don’t see food on the table, the Mahjong tiles, or really see Tomi’s dead body when the characters are mourning. 

    The pattern of facing away from the camera is repeated many times and in the scene where Noriko offers money to Tomi, we don’t really get to see her expressions. This hides how the character is feeling and we may be loosing an expression of their true emotions. Is this to hide the insincerity of these characters? Similarly, when Koichi first hears news of his mother’s critical state, he probably realizes in that moment, that she is going to die. In this frame, we see Koichi standing, facing his back to the camera, but we loose his expression here. We are not allowed to see how Koichi feels immediately after her realizes that his mother is going to die. As a viewer, this presentation was frustrating because I wanted to see both characters communicating. 

    The characters are also placed against the vastness of the environment around them in many moments which we don’t get to view with them. Scenes of Tokyo itself, the glittering ocean at Atami, and the dawn after Tomi’s death are always contrasted by a dark concrete forefront and a glazing white background. In scenes of the views of Tokyo and in the contrast of dark and light, the city appears to push them away. In the final dawn scene with Shukichi, his gaping expression makes it difficult to stay with the temporality or the momentary comfort of a new day. 

    Another theme in the movie is the difficulty that the characters have in trying to communicate with one another. When Shukichi and Tomi return from Atami, Shige insists that they stay and Tomi’s face expresses tiredness and a subtle irritation toward Shige. The tension is clear in their expressions but never verbally communicated. And when something is communicated, like in the scene where Shukichi comes to Shige’s house drunk, her irritation is never resolved. She nudges her father and is so frustrated with him but he doesn’t respond. In a similar case, Shige tries to insist one of her customers to get a more modern cut. The tension builds as she continues to insist, but her customer refuses. All these moments combine, especially for Shige to highlight her irritation. With most scenes, it seems like there is no resolution. The characters fail to comfort one another or provide comfort in ways that we feel unfamiliar. In Atami, Shuckichi does not give Tomi a hand when she’s dizzy, when Tomi cries, Noriko does not comfort her, Noriko tries to comfort Kyoko, but the heaviness and grief that everyone is carrying is something they experience alone. 

    Sometimes the frames are so direct and confrontational and continue to carry forward that theme, while other times the characters and their emotions are hidden away. When Tomi and Shukichi first visit Noriko’s house, we see their faces clearly, along with the frame of their late son. Tokyo Story presents the lives of these characters just as it is. The viewer is not comforted and with the low camera angles, we are present with the emotional state of the characters, the familial tension, the hidden emotions, the suffering that their lives in Tokyo brings, and grief, in every moment. Everyone is alone in their feelings and no one is truly able to comfort each other in their loneliness. The ending scene with the neighbor does not hide Shukichi’s suffering in any way. She directly says, ‘Lonely, you will be lonely,’ and walks away with a cordial smile. There isn’t one moment in the film that feels like taking a deep breath. We are intentionally undistracted by anything that separates us from the characters. The combination of not being able to see and seeing too starkly, builds up a feeling suffocation and breathlessness.