Tokyo Chorus (1931)

Directed by Yasujirô Ozu. Starring Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Tatsuo Saitô, Takeshi Sakamoto, Hideo Sugawara, Hideko Takamine, Chôko Iida, Reikô Tani, Isamu Yamaguchi.

Featherweight depiction of harsh realities during the Great Depression in Japan, a silent seriocomedy that follows a working-class man who has recently lost his job and struggles to provide for his family. Yasujirô Ozu plays around with Chaplin-esque gags and social critique, but he’s most comfortable with the grounded and bittersweet moments in and around the household, seen through slow pans mixed in with low, stationary camera shots, observing but rarely insisting. One key scene between Okada and his former sensei (Saitô) captures an affecting sense of honesty—most people will be able to relate—that’s missing in the less credible resolution. Casual and amusing, but not as distinguished as the director’s later, more mature work.

70/100