The Toda siblings
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Toda siblings |
| Original title | 戸 田家 の 兄妹 Toda-ke no kyōdai |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Publishing year | 1941 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Yasujirō Ozu |
| script |
Tadao Ikeda , Yasujirō Ozu |
| music | Senji Itō |
| camera | Yūharu Atsuta |
| cut | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| occupation | |
| |
The Toda Siblings ( 戸 田家 の 兄妹 , Toda-ke no kyōdai ) is a Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu from 1941 .
action
The Toda family, who belong to the Japanese upper class, are celebrating the 69th birthday of their father Shintaro, who with his wife has five grown children and is considered a successful businessman. After a photo op and a meal together, Shintaro dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The family gathers, only the son Shojiro, who is considered a little careless, appears only after Shintaro's death, as he was fishing in Osaka . The older son Shinichiro reveals to his surprised siblings that their father was in debt because of a failed business and that he has therefore left nothing. To pay off the debt, the family sells the father's house with all the furniture and works of art in it. Shojiro becomes pensive after the death of his father and decides to give up his hitherto less industrious life in Japan and go to Tianjin in China (the city was then occupied by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War ).
The widowed mother and the youngest, still unmarried sister Setsuko move in with Shinichiro and his wife Kazuko. The relationship between the mother and her daughter-in-law Kazuko is of formal politeness, but generally cold and cold. Therefore they move on to the eldest daughter Chizuru. Conflicts also arise here, however: Setsuko does not feel helpful in the household and wants to earn money herself, which is why she wants to look for work, which Chizuru does not consider appropriate. The mother knows that her grandson Ryokichi once skipped school and withholds this information from Chizuru - who then accuses her of forgiving the grandson. The middle daughter Ayako then offers her mother and Setsuko to live with her - but is also happy when they move into the family's somewhat shabby beach house instead.
On the first anniversary of the father's death, the family reunites for a ceremony, Shojiro also travels from China. He is outraged that his mother and sister have to live alone in the old beach house. He accuses his siblings of their mistakes and lack of gratitude in dealing with their mother. The siblings are expelled from the house, but later apologize for their behavior. Shojiro offers his mother, Setsuko, and the faithful family servant Kiyo to live with him in China. After some concern, they agree. Setsuko tries to pair up her working-class friend Tokiko with Shojiro, but Shojiro makes his way to the beach before he can meet her.
background
The Toda siblings is one of the few films by Ozu that thematizes an upper class family, which was not without risk, since Japanese films in the early 1940s - in the context of the Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War - by the nationalist government were used as propaganda and critical representations of the upper class in the censorship office were seen as negative. The film also marks his first collaboration with cameraman Atsuta, with whom he made over a dozen films after World War II.
Thematically, Die Geschwister Toda is a forerunner of Ozu's best-known film Die Reise nach Tokyo , in which the grandparents are sent on a similarly strenuous and loveless journey between the households of their children who have no time for them. The conflict as to whether women should enter the world of work is also discussed. In contrast to Die Reise nach Tokyo , where the father remains alone as a widower, Ozu offers a solution here that doesn't leave the old mother alone. The Japanese-conquered part of China - where Ozu served for the army in the late 1930s - offers an opportunity here for the Japanese looking for a fresh start. The Toda siblings are therefore also available on DVD from the British Film Institute together with the trip to Tokyo .
Reviews
The film service writes about The Toda Siblings : “A drama set in the upper class at the beginning of the 1940s, with which Ozu leaves his cherished subject of everyday life in the Japanese lower class. In doing so, he succeeds in making an impressive plea for the cohesion of the family, which was shaped by the hard war. "
Web links
- The siblings Toda in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Adam Bingham: Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. In: Senses of Cinema. July 26, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Art house: Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. December 18, 2013, accessed March 25, 2019 .
- ^ Art house: Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. December 18, 2013, accessed March 25, 2019 .
- ↑ The Toda siblings. Retrieved March 17, 2019 .