I finally saw this film after Site & Sound Magazine rated it as the third greatest film ever made in their once-a-decade list. Far from being in the pantheon of greatest films, I found it to be a ploddingly dull movie that made some fairly obvious points about the weakening of the parent/child relationship as the parents settle into old age.
The movie is definitely not without its fine points. The acting is generally excellent and the last half hour becomes increasingly interesting after the first brutally slow-paced opening hour and forty-five minutes. It's entirely possible that if Site & Sound hadn't placed this film on such a high pedestal, I might have enjoyed it more than I did. But then again, if they hadn't have rated it so highly, I might have never seen it at all.
In the final analysis, "Tokyo Story" is worth a look but if you're expecting to see one of the greatest films ever made, be ready to be disappointed.
The movie is definitely not without its fine points. The acting is generally excellent and the last half hour becomes increasingly interesting after the first brutally slow-paced opening hour and forty-five minutes. It's entirely possible that if Site & Sound hadn't placed this film on such a high pedestal, I might have enjoyed it more than I did. But then again, if they hadn't have rated it so highly, I might have never seen it at all.
In the final analysis, "Tokyo Story" is worth a look but if you're expecting to see one of the greatest films ever made, be ready to be disappointed.