''Tokyo-Ga'' is a 1985
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...
, about Japanese filmmaker
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...
. An international co-production of the United States and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, the film was shot in spring 1983. Its focus ranges from explicit explorations of Ozu's filmmaking—Wenders interviews Ozu's regular cinematographer, Yuharu Atsuta, and one of Ozu's favorite actors,
Chishū Ryū
was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions.
Early life
Ryū was born in Tamamizu Village, Tamana County, a rural area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, the most southe ...
—to scenes of contemporary Tokyo, featuring
pachinko
is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
machines and
plastic food displays. Wenders introduces the film as a "diary on film."
''Tokyo-Ga'' was screened in the ''
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
'' section at the
1985 Cannes Film Festival.
Sections
#Reflections on Ozu
#
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
#The center of the world
#
Chishū Ryū
was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions.
Early life
Ryū was born in Tamamizu Village, Tamana County, a rural area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, the most southe ...
#''Mu''
#Amusements
#Wax food
#Searching for images
#Trains
#Yuharu Atsuta
#A good-bye
References
External links
*
*
*
1985 films
Films directed by Wim Wenders
Documentary films about film directors and producers
West German films
1980s German-language films
1980s Japanese-language films
1985 documentary films
German documentary films
American documentary films
Films set in Tokyo
Films shot in Tokyo
Yasujirō Ozu
Films scored by Laurent Petitgand
Japan in non-Japanese culture
1980s English-language films
1980s American films
1980s German films
{{bio-documentary-film-stub