An Inn in Tokyo (Tokyo no Yado )

Japan, 1935, 80 minutes, silent with partial music track

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Cast: Takeshi Sakamoto, Tokkan Kozo, Takayuki Suematsu, Yoshiko Okada, Kazuko Ojima, and Choko Iida

Thursday, February 24, 2005
Yasujiro Ozu Retrospective
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Avenue
Seattle, Washington

Ozu's last silent film reflects the post-Depression reality of 1930's Japan with a sensitive, sympathetic portrayal of the down-and-out that prefigures the neorealism of works like De Sica's The Bicycle Thief.  Under a harsh, unforgiving sun, widower Kihachi wanders looking for work in the parched, industrial flatlands with his two young sons.  After earning food by turning in stray dogs to the police, Kihachi finally finds work at a factory.  But when the daughter of a kind woman they meet falls ill, Kihachi contemplates theft in order to save her life.  The atmospheric cinematography has a near-tactile quality that renders the many scenes played out in scorching summer heat oppressively visceral.  The film stars Takeshi Sakamoto, Tokkan Kozo and Choko Iida among others (all featured in A Story of Floating Weeds).