Toda-ke no kyōdai
HK DVD Cover
Directed byYasujirō Ozu
Written byTadao Ikeda
Yasujirō Ozu
StarringMieko Takamine
Shin Saburi
Hideo Fujino
Fumiko Katsuragi
CinematographyYūharu Atsuta
Edited byYoshiyasu Hamamura
Music bySenji Itō
Production
company
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • 1 March 1941 (1941-03-01) (Japan)[1][2]
Running time
106 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (戸田家の兄妹, Toda-ke no kyōdai) is a 1941 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu.[1][2]

Plot

The upper-class Toda family celebrates the 69th birthday of their father Shintarō with a commemorative outdoor photoshoot. Unfortunately, shortly after the photo session, the father suffers a fatal heart attack. After his death, his eldest son Shin'ichirō announces that as their father had acted as a guarantor for a company which has gone bankrupt, they must help pay off that company's debts. The family sells off all their late father's properties and antiques, leaving only an old house by the sea. Meanwhile, the mother and the youngest daughter Setsuko go and stay with Shin'ichirō and his wife. The unmarried second brother Shōjirō takes the opportunity to move away from Japan to Tianjin, China (which had been occupied by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese war).

The mother and Setsuko disharmonise with Shin'ichirō's wife Kazuko and go to stay with Chizuko, the married eldest sister. However, Setsuko's plans to go out to work are met with vehement objections from Chizuko, who finds the idea disgraceful since they are an upper-class family. Chizuko also clashes with the mother over Chizuko's son, who has been playing truant from school. Instead of accepting Setsuko's second sister Ayako offer to live with her and her husband, Mrs. Toda and Setsuko decide to move out to the unsold dilapidated house by the sea. Ayako and her husband are secretly relieved for not having to take them in.

On the first anniversary of the father's death, the family comes together for a ceremonial gathering. Shōjirō arrives in time for the family dinner and is shocked to learn that his mother and Setsuko are staying alone by the sea. He reprimands his brother and his sisters for not doing their part as children and urges them to leave at once, which they do. After dinner, Shōjirō asks his mother and Setsuko to stay with him in Tianjin, to which they agree. Setsuko tries to arrange a marriage between Shōjirō and her friend Tokiko, who has come for a visit, but Shōjirō runs off to the beach before she can get them to meet.

Cast

Production and reception

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family was Ozu's first film after a three year hiatus. Unsatisfied with his salary paid by the Shochiku film studio, Ozu approached the company's president Shirō Kido, asking for a raise, which Kido conditioned on the outcome of his next film. During filming, Ozu was pressured into a tight shooting schedule by Shochiku.[3]

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family was awarded as "Best Film of the Year" by Kinema Junpo, and Ozu's first box office hit, which he ascribed to the popularity of its stars Shin Saburi and Mieko Takamine, who both worked with Ozu for the first time. As a result, Ozu received a long-term contract by the studio.[3]

Home media

In 2010, the BFI released a Region 2 DVD of the film as a bonus feature on its Dual Format Edition (Blu-ray + DVD) of Tokyo Story.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "戸田家の兄妹". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 "戸田家の兄妹". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 Richie, Donald (1977). Ozu: His Life and Films. University of California Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780520032774.
  4. ↑ "Tokyo Story". BFI Shop. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
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