Tokyo Story

Join us for Free Japanese Film Evening!

Free Japanese films shown at Massey University are usually screened on the first Wednesday of the month from 6:30pm and are preceded by a documentary about Japanese culture from 6:15pm.

- All films have English subtitles.
- Booking is not necessary.
- Films, dates and times are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Please contact us to confirm details.
We hope that you will enjoy the films and gain a deeper insight into various aspects of Japanese culture.

September film: "Tokyo Story"
(Director: Yasujiro Ozu, 1953, 136min. Rating: PG, Cast:Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara)

Listed at Number One in Halliwell's Top 1000 countdown of the world's best cinema, and voted among the five best films ever made in Sight and Sound magazine's ten yearly poll of critics worldwide, Tokyo Story is prehaps the most powerful reflection on the human condition ever committed to celluloid.

When an elderly couple travel to a rapidly-rebuilding Tokyo to visit their children, they are met with unexpected indifference, ingratitude and selfishness. As the vastly different priorities of pre- and post-war Japan collide, Yasujiro Ozu's masterpiece deepens into a sublime meditation on family, ambition and mortality.

Considered by many to be the greatest film ever made, Tokyo Story is a subtle yet overwhelmingly emotional drama from one of Japan's finest directors whose masterful eye and scrupulous attention to character has influenced countless filmmakers around the world.

© 1953 Shochiku Co., Ltd

Presented by the Consulate-General of Japan, the University of Auckland, Massey University and the Japan Foundation.