Tokyo Sonata
Tokyo Sonata Image
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Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

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  • Starring: Kyôko Koizumi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yû Koyanagi
  • Summary: Tokyo Sonata is a portrait of a seemingly ordinary Japanese family. The father who abruptly loses his job conceals the truth from his family; the eldest son in college hardly returns home; the youngest son furtively takes piano lessons without telling his parents; and the mother, who knows deep down that her role is to keep the family together, cannot find the will to do so. From the exterior, all is normal and the same. But somehow, a single, unforeseeable chasm has appeared within the family, threatening to disintegrate them. Director Kurosawa’s use of light and dark to express a sense of simultaneous hope and horror verges on awe-inspiring and the ending will leave you enthralled. (Regent Releasing)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    100
    Kurosawa's film is heavyweight fare: disturbing, slightly over the top, but satisfying, like a rich meal with a powerful aftertaste.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    Kurosawa's abiding concern has always been the alienation of modern living, which he here merely transplants into a more recognizable domestic milieu, where subtle fissures in society's apparent order threaten to short-circuit people instead of their beloved technology.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Eric Campos
    80
    With Tokyo Sonata, Kurosawa shows that he has quite the flair for dry humor and peppers this film with just the perfect amount.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is better known for horror films; this is a movie where the horror is internalized, and hideously truthful.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. zembowerboy
    10
    An expertly crafted and haunting family drama from the former master of J-horror. Here he proofs the harsh realities of life are scarier and more surreal than anything paranormal.… Expand
  2. StanG
    9
    Director Kurosawa explores the nightmare of a family rent asunder, primarily due to the father losing his mid-level management job. The film has one of the most perfect endings I've ever seen in cinema.… Expand
  3. MattyG
    9
    "Tokyo Sonata" is microcosm of Japan's "Lost Decade" that uses an average middle-class family to tell a story that challenges tradition and extols renewal and discovery. I admit that when I received the DVD in the mail I thought the title was "Tokyo Santa" so maybe anything would have been a pleasant surprise, but I genuinely feel this film is excellent. The acting was more-than-believable, even with two youth actors. What I enjoyed most, perhaps what I like about foreign films in general, is the words unsaid were more profound than the dialogue. This isn't a date movie, but if you want to take a look at the human condition for a few hours, I highly recommend it.… Expand

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