Tokyo Sonata

Tokyo Sonata

  • Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa,Max Mannix,Sachiko Tanaka
  • Countries of origin: Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong
  • Language: Japanese
  • Release date: September 27, 2008
  • Sound mix: Dolby SR
  • Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1
  • Also known as: Tokyo sonatı
  • "Tokyo sonata" is a family drama film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Starring Kagawa Teruyuki , Koizumi Kyoko ,いのわきかい , TOMO , etc.
    The film tells the story of a father who was laid off by the company, but unable to speak, and the whole family with their own troubles from collapse to rebirth   .
    The film was released in Japan on September 27, 2008.

    Details

    • Release date September 27, 2008
    • Filming locations Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies Django Film, Entertainment Farm (EF), Fortissimo Films

    Box office

    Budget

    $2,500,000 (estimated)

    Gross US & Canada

    $278,356

    Opening weekend US & Canada

    $28,345

    Gross worldwide

    $943,547

    Movie reviews

     ( 102 ) Add reviews

    • By Vinnie 2022-12-27 00:33:00

      The epitome of real society in the times - "Tokyo Sonata"

      I originally thought it was a movie about musicians, but it turned out to be a work that reflects the contemporary real society in Japan. It combines a series of contemporary social problems such as domestic violence, unemployment among middle-aged groups, and contemporary education, and even shows the attitude of young people to join the army and participate in the war at the time of the Middle East War.
          At the beginning of the film, the small family of four is actually a microcosm of...

    • By Declan 2022-12-23 07:47:47

      There is always a light in life

      A movie I watched a long time ago.

      What I remember most is the moonlight sonata flowing out under the hands of the youngest son. The stubborn and serious father, the gloomy mother, and the expressions on the faces of the beautiful piano teacher are all a kind of relief that has been cured. That beam of light shot on the piano gently and dimly, and cast a beam of beautiful light in their hearts.

      What is talent? The teacher said that your son is accomplished at the piano. Maybe...

    • By Darian 2022-12-20 13:10:51

      practice

      When I heard what my father said, I couldn't take it back, because it was the dignity of a father, and a parent, without dignity, would be finished. So why do you need children? Because no matter how miserable you are, do you have almighty authority and power in front of your children? It is really difficult for a person to truly grow into an adult. The vast majority of people, all their lives, have been miserably seeking a little bit of security.

      Needless to say, from elementary...

    • By Evie 2022-12-10 20:32:28

      i listen to tokyo sonata

      I watched the film in two parts last night and this morning. On the one hand, I did this because the length of the film was too long. On the other hand, I also read a short comment from a friend who said that the two parts of the film are very different. Indeed, after watching the first half of last night, I felt so depressed, from social problems to family problems, I was breathless. After watching the second half, I finally relaxed and returned to calm.

      The first half of the film is...

    • By Alia 2022-12-10 15:18:12

      Improve self-worth and deal with black swan events

      This is a surreal movie that vividly expresses personal helplessness and deception, so much so that after watching it, I felt a sense of horror.

      A good film where you can see yourself or be inspired and change you, I think this film is very inspiring, the beginning of a family breakdown begins with each other's silence and The mistrust that comes, many tragedies could have been avoided, but after falling into the cage of self-limitation, I couldn’t...

    User comments

      ( 84 ) Add comments

    • By Winifred 2023-08-30 07:06:50

      The embarrassment of middle-aged unemployment, the anguish of being stuck in a family, the real sadness of life, is not something that young literary and artistic young people who are trying to write new words to express their sorrows can experience. How can I start over? No, no more, that bit of dignity. It's a pity that the film doesn't maintain a pathetic realism tone throughout. From picking up the money, the story goes out of control and develops in a dramatic direction, and then abruptly...

    • By Evert 2023-08-09 11:30:35

      Survival is not easy, life is even more...

    • By Noelia 2023-07-17 15:07:25

      Favorite Kurosawa...

    • By Pascale 2023-06-13 05:10:44

      Glowing sea. 20150818 added, it feels better to rewatch...

    • By Filiberto 2023-06-10 16:06:35

      After watching the movie, I wrote 14 lines of poetry masterpiece or the fuse of the...

    Movie plot

    Sasaki Ryuhei ( Kagawa Teruyuki ), 46, is the head of the general affairs section of a health equipment manufacturer, but when the company relocated some operations to China, he became redundant and was fired. He leaves the company he has worked for for many years in anger, but does not tell his wife Megumi ( Koizumi Kyoko ) the bad news.
    From the next day, he still wore a suit every day and went to work as usual with a briefcase on his...
    more about Tokyo Sonata Movie plot

    Creative background

    The original script for the film was written by Australian playwright Max Mannix, who once lived in Japan. In 2006, two film production companies became interested in this book, one is Entertainment Farm in Japan, and the other is the well-known Dutch company Fortissimo. Fortissimo has worked on James R. Jarmusch and Wong Kar-wai , but has never worked on a Japanese film before. At first, the company held a half-wait-and-see attitude -...
    more about Tokyo Sonata Creative background

    Script update

    The original script of the film is the work of Max Mannix, an Australian playwright who once lived in Japan. After getting the script, Kurosawa Kiyoshi made a drastic adaptation. Max Mannix's book is based on the relationship between the father and the son: the father goes to work without the knowledge of the family, the son learns the piano without the knowledge of the family, and the confrontation and communication between the two...
    more about Tokyo Sonata Script update

    Shooting process

    When filming Sasaki at the employment agency and in the park where the relief food is handed out, Kurosawa does it in a comedy that doesn't notice. A middle-aged man neatly dressed and wearing a tie looked so discordant among a crowd of elderly people. Kurosu, who was in the same predicament of unemployment as Sasaki, even deceived himself and set a bell to make him feel like he was still at work, and still polished his shoes.
    Kurosawa...
    more about Tokyo Sonata Shooting process

    Positive review

    From the experience and relationship of a family of four, Kurosawa saw the restlessness of the entire Japan in the economic, social and political environment of the new century. The U.S. entry into the military and the analysis of China's energy resources by commentators in the news are all Japanese reactions to the impact of strong external forces. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has accurately hidden these causal fragments in the plot of the film;...
    more about Tokyo Sonata Positive review

    Movie quotes

    • Megumi Sasaki: Screw your authority.

    • Megumi Sasaki: How wonderful it would be if my whole life so far turns out to have been a dream, and suddenly I wake up and I'm someone else entirely.