"If you come up to Tokyo again, mother, please come visit again.""Yes... But I'm afraid I won't be coming back. I know you're busy, but do try to come to Onomichi.""I'd really like to, if it were a bit nearer.""You're right, it's so far away."What nobody told me as an immature teenager was that the secret to appreciating Ozu is to live long enough to feel the years start going by faster and faster, and see everyone you know grow decades older, and watch everything you've ever known and loved steamrolled by change.
Tokyo Story is poignancy refined and redefined. The entire film is poetic, heart rending and is immensely soulful. From the strikingly beautiful Japanese country side wearing a sultry look, the most humbly built homes on earth, with a score as sweet and soothing as a cuckoo’s early morning song, with people who bow and show respect in the most courteous manner; this film was incredibly touching and an invaluable life experience for me.Ozu brilliantly mesmerizes the viewer with the static and hyper observant camera, immersing us into the twilight days and wishes of an aging couple, The Hirayamas. The one wish they have is to visit their children, be with them under their roof, experience their love and care for a few days. Only then would their lives be complete, their satisfaction paramount and their death Peaceful. What ensues after this, forms for one of the most touching cinematic experiences I have ever been through.The elderly couple do not talk much but when they do, they shed pearls of wisdom. A film with such a heavy theme, with a story revolving around characters who are ripe old, could have easily gone overboard, sounding preachy and philosophical. But Tokyo Story never once gave me that feeling. It is always grounded in reality and so humbly underplayed and subdued. It would not be a hyperbolic statement even if I said this film is buried in reality. Each stare, each word spoken, each gasp, each contemplative silence, each reflective thought, each moment of the couple’s presence on screen filled me with such heart felt emotion and an outstanding appreciation of the gratification they hold so dearly of having lived a beautifully long, love filled life together. Every single performance in this extraordinarily well crafted film felt sincere and genuine. And Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama who portray the elderly couple are simply unsurpassable.What does age and time do to the bond between parents and children? Good parents always care for their children the same way no matter how much they have grown and matured. But, mostly it does not work the other way around. Children when independent almost invariably distance themselves from their parents. Distancing might not necessarily mean how far they are apart in physicality, but how formal, stiff and unnatural the bond has become and how distant their hearts and souls have become with the passage of time. The once unconditional love and warmth is now one sided and has been constricted by subordinate factors like time, money and endless other worldly parameters. The Separation might be a voluntary act fuelled by the desire to live freely, to pursue ambitious dreams and careers, to give into the enticement of money, moving away from the shade of constant admonition and protective care and revel in the sunshine of the world. This might also be an involuntary act where they have succumbed to the inescapable fate of falling in love with someone. What children never realize is that this sense of freedom is nothing earned. We are shown the path, our hands held firmly, guided away from pitfalls, constructed a strong person to face the severities of life. When fully capable of creating and supporting their own livelihood, the only thing which has to remembered and inculcated every passing day is; Everything they have achieved and are about to achieve would never have been possible without those two irreplaceable human beings, their parents.Tokyo Story conveys all these priceless truths and never once falls into the melodramatic mode or gives the impression of emotional manipulation, again because of the stellar performances and also because this is something that any human being on Earth would someday face. The old couple realize the changing world, the modern attitude, lifestyle and temperament and the harsh fight for survival. They wanted to see their World. The World for them is their children. But the children are absorbed by the expenditures of taking them around, totally failing to see the point, never realizing that their parents have already seen what they wanted to see. The couple are treated a bit inconsiderately but the way they take everything in their stride is something to admired and cherished. They have reached a point in their lives where they have nothing to lose. By now they have truly realized the greatest gift they received was not the birth of their children but how they have grown into above average people in such an unforgiving and harsh world. Never do they feel heart-broken or unsatisfied. They are content because with age comes the insurmountable knowledge of The Tree of Life and that everything will pass by with time.It is almost poetic justice delivered when we see an in-law showing more attention, honesty and love towards these precious people than their own children. Setsuko Hara's character and portrayal was incredibly moving and deserves a mention. This film is hearty, emotional, made me shed tears, made me cheery and gloomy, gave me the confidence to face life and also the death of a loved one. But more importantly it is one of the rare films which reminded me of the solemn oath that I had recently taken, to be a better son with every passing day.Tokyo Story states “You cannot serve your parents beyond the grave”. I confidently say that one can actually accomplish this servility by showering the same unconditional they once received from their parents, on their children. This is without doubt, one of the greatest films ever made. The memories absorbed, truths dispelled, lessons learnt here will last in my mind for as long as I live and I will make sure to pass those on to my children one day, when I make them experience Tokyo Story.Life is not disappointing. It has always been and always will remain to be A Bittersweet Life.Master Ozu, I bow to You.
