Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) is probably the darkest film the director ever made. The familiar explorations of marriage and family are shadowed by grave misfortune. The focus is on two sisters who try to deal with children and marriage without a mother who left them when they were still kids.
Being an Ozu film, I had high expectations for Tokyo Twilight and even then I was a bit surprised because the film nearly reaches the complexity and emotional impact of the so-called Noriko trilogy. With a strong cast of characters (and actors) and a thought-provoking approach Ozu manages to create yet another unforgettable story.
Tokyo Twilight is not an exception to the formal aesthetic of Ozu's sound films and it isn't exactly stand out in his filmography, which means it is quite stunning on its own. The soundtrack is surprisingly a bit more emotional in comparison to the director's other films, but the difference isn't that significant in the end.
Ozu's incredible streak of great movies seems to have no end. Tokyo Twilight is often forgotten because the focus is on his other masterpieces like Late Spring (1949), but it is extremely fascinating and sublime as well.
Score: 10 out of 10
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