Synopsis
"Some of
Ozu’s most striking compositions grace
Tokyo Twilight, whose dusky title suggests sadness, transience, ambiguity – appropriate for this tale of a family’s downfall.
Setsuko Hara is magnificent as a woman who leaves her abusive, alcoholic husband and returns home to her father (
Chishu Ryu) and younger sister. The latter, pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend, undergoes an abortion before both sisters discover a family secret that has devastating consequences. Set in a Tokyo quarter of pachinko and mahjongparlors, rundown bars, and noodle shops in the gray chill of midwinter,
Tokyo Twilight seems more histrionic than many
Ozu dramas. Yet the low-slung camera shots, straight cuts, and severely delimited space, the marvelously detailed soundtrack and distinctive music, combine to make the film classically
Ozu.” – Harvard Film Archive
