‘Tokyo Sonata’ a film of two separate parts

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast: Teruyki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Yu Koyanag

A strangely disjointed film that begins well but tacks on a second half that seems to have come from another film.

The opening is full of quiet promise: Kagama plays a man very much of these upsetting times, fired from his job but unable to admit it to his wife (Koizumi) he travels every day into town and wanders the streets while she remains at home. Both, meanwhile, are unable to realise that their younger son is a musical genius.

This is the strong section of the film in that it considers hopelessness, detachment and loss of face … the second part is in complete contradiction and doesn’t belong to what has gone before.

Star Rating: 3/5