MTA 218 – Tokyo-Ga

I just finished my first International Film & Television class, and all I can say is that I’m excited for the weeks to come. In addition to having interesting subject material, the class is being taught by an articulate and intelligent Brit who promises to add flair and intrigue even when the subject matter becomes ponderous. As an introduction to the class, we watched Wim Wenders’ Tokyo-Ga, which takes the form of an observational tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, a Japanese director whose works span from the early silent era until his death in the mid-sixties. The film carries the tag-line of “a film diary,” and, despite an onerous and ill-fitting score emblematic of everything despicable about 80’s music, fulfils its quest in preventing a uniquely observant perspective on 1989 Tokyo. A basic tenant of the film is that Ozu captured a true perspective of Tokyo and manages to create an intimacy between his viewer and his subject. In the true tradition of a tribute film, Wenders attempts and achieves much of the same effect by providing unique glimpses into both Tokyo and Ozu as a person. Although sometimes grating in its presentation, it was as unique as it was effective.