| Toda-ke no kyōdai | |
|---|---|
 HK DVD Cover | |
| Directed by | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Written by | Tadao Ikeda Yasujirō Ozu |
| Starring | Mieko Takamine Shin Saburi Hideo Fujino Fumiko Katsuragi |
| Cinematography | Yūharu Atsuta |
| Edited by | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| Music by | Senji Itō |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date | |
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (戸田家の兄妹,Toda-ke no kyōdai) is a 1941 Japanesedrama film directed byYasujirō Ozu.[1][2]
The upper-class Toda family celebrates the 69th birthday of their father Shintarō with a commemorative outdoor photoshoot. 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 valuable possessions, leaving only an old house by the sea. Meanwhile, the mother and the youngest daughter Setsuko go to stay with Shin'ichirō and his wife. The unmarried second brother Shōjirō takes the opportunity to move from Japan toTianjin, China (which had been occupied by Japan during theSecond Sino-Japanese War).
The mother and Setsuko do not get along 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 the offer of Setsuko's second sister Ayako to live with her and her husband, Mrs. Toda and Setsuko decide to move out to the unsold and dilapidated house by the sea. Ayako and her husband are privately relieved at 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 strongly reprimands his brother and his sisters for not doing their part as children and urges them to leave the gathering at once, which they do. After dinner, Shōjirō invites his mother and Setsuko to stay with him in Tianjin, to which they agree. Setsuko tries to arrange a marriage between Shōjirō and her unmarried friend Tokiko, who has come for a visit, but Shōjirō runs off to the beach before she can get them to meet.
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family was Ozu's first film after a three year hiatus. Unsatisfied with his salary paid by theShochiku 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 honoured as "Best Film of the Year" byKinema Junpo. It was 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 from the studio.[3]
In 2010, the BFI released a Region 2 DVD of the film as a bonus feature on its Dual Format Edition (Blu-ray + DVD) ofTokyo Story.[4]