fried-rice

'Tokyo Sonata' is a drama film about an ordinary middle-class family in Tokyo that disintegrates when the father is fired. Suddenly forced out of his job when the General Affairs Department is moved to China, he acts as if he is working for his family. Friction develops between the children, who try to start something new, the father, who tries to maintain his dignity by not allowing it, and the mother, who sympathises with the children.

It was very interesting at the beginning, due to the protagonist's encounter with Kurosu, an unemployed 'senior'. As a professionally unemployed man, he gives the protagonist various pieces of wisdom, each of which makes me laugh. On the other hand, he has the role of brutally showing the protagonist and us the reality of his situation as an unemployed person, and make the protagonist's decision to get a job.

The film's setting was quite realistic (e.g. Tokyo views, family structure). However, the events that took place there seemed too miraculous to me. The second son, whose talent for the piano is suddenly discovered by his instructor; the thief who breaks into the house in daylight and threatens the mother, all did not match the conventional image I had of them, and the unfolding story was so sudden and confusing. Kurosu was comically described and impressive...

The narrative, in which family members who were filled with pride and unable to understand each other's feelings felt guilty for lying and sinning separately, and gathered together again in their home, was thought-provoking about the family relationship. However, due to the unrealistic characters and unfolding of the story, I was not sure whether I should focus on the film's comical elements or watch it seriously.

This film mainly focuses on the interaction between Naomi, a high school student living in the big city Nagoya, and Ms. Koide, an Alzheimer's sufferer living in the countryside (filmed in Shinshiro, in the same prefecture as Nagoya). Naomi tends to skip classes and play around with her friends, so her father takes her to stay at her aunt's inn, and she is assigned to take care of Ms. Koide. The two are quite different in age and upbringing, but as Naomi asks Ms. Koide about her past, they talk freely little by little. At first Naomi is disgusted with life in the rural area, but her feelings change as she interacts with not only Ms. Koide, but also a young man at a liquor store and her cousin who is awfully close to her.

The film proceeds with a leisurely pace, showing the Japanese countryside with its impressive bright greenery. It may be boring for people who favor constant action scenes. However, the actors' performances are generally natural, and together with the beautiful scenery and not excessive music, it immerses us in the film and does not feel redundant. The second half gives the impression of many sudden events, perhaps in an attempt to add ups and downs in the story. There were so few explanations of causes and motives, which I felt expedited the complexity of this film, requiring the viewer's imagination to supplement the story. In particular, there were few scenes in which Naomi conversed with her parents, and it was difficult to guess the background and the relationship between them along with a feeling of scarcity.

Although there are a few parts that lack explanation, the film is easy to watch with an understandable plot. Recommended for those who want to feel summer.