“Tokyo Story is a quiet, sad, indescribably beautiful family story: it tells of a journey that does not fulfil its promise, of a life that is broken by modern civilization and becomes obsolete. Once again, the great traditionalist delves into the ultimate depths of his theme, which deals with ageing, dying, renunciation and failure; the sentence “Yes, it's true, when you lose yourself, you can only ever look for each other and you still won't find each other.” seems like a program. Ozu seeks refuge from the fleetingness of experience and the present in perfection, with crystal-clear and yet unfathomable images whose vanishing point points to infinity and whose precision can at best be compared to that of Robert Bresson. With his calm shots, this surprising figure in film history makes the greatest dramas, the most hidden human emotions palpable.” Bruno Jaeggi, Basler Zeitung 5.7.1983

Loan of the film print with kind support of the Cinémathèque Suisse.

‘A modern favourite! … A mere written description of the work might appear banal: a picket fence paralleling an ancient wooden sewage pipe among cascading, wild red roses – and finally a few telephone wires against the sky. Yet the result is to take an aspect of reality, sift it through the creative Mind, and produce a singular, joyous event!’ – Bruce Baillie

Loan of the film print with kind support of LUX.