JAPANESE director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) has made a name for himself with horror flicks such as “Pulse” (2000) – which was redone in Hollywood – and “Cure” (1997).
Now he effortlessly switches gears with the stark social drama “Tokyo Sonata” (not to be confused with “Tokyo!” which opened here last Friday).
Although envisioned before the world economy went to hell, “Tokyo Sonata” is relevant to the mess we’re in now.
Ryuhei, a middle-age salaryman, loses his job but doesn’t let on to his wife and two sons. Each morning, he puts on a suit, grabs his briefcase and leaves the house as usual.
He spends a good part of the day trying to find a job, even though he’s unlikely to get anything worthy of his talents.
He eventually has to clean toilets in a department store, a fate that proves fatal to Ryuhei’s pride.
He gets his lunch with the homeless at a soup kitchen, where he runs into a high school pal who has been “downsized” but hasn’t told his wife and eighth-grade daughter.
The pal is in complete denial – he has his cellphone programmed to ring five times an hour to give the impression that he’s working, working, working. (He and his wife eventually off themselves.)
Joblessness isn’t Ryuhei’s only problem. His older son joins the military against his father’s wishes, and his younger boy defies his dad and uses his lunch money to pay for piano lessons.
Just when it seems matters can’t get worse, Ryuhei’s wife is kidnapped by a burglar.
Although few families are likely to suffer the extreme fate of this one, the well-acted, sensitively told “Tokyo Sonata” – which screened at last year’s New York Film Festival – hits home in this time of financial crisis.
It makes one realize how important a job is to personal identity.
Without giving too much away, Ryuhei and clan are able to start anew, to the strands of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” no less. Unfortunately, too many real-life families don’t have that option.
TOKYO SONATA
Father doesn’t know best.
In Japanese, with English subtitles. Running time: 119 minutes. Not rated (mature themes). At the IFC Center and the Lincoln Plaza.