Pickford Film Center and Western Libraries present...

Masters of Japanese Cinema

Masters of Japanese Cinema is a new series for Pickford Film Center, shining a light on the rich history of Japanese cinema, from old masters such as Ozu, Akira Kurosawa and Naruse, to modern masters such as Miyazaki, Kore-eda, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Curated by Jeff Purdue, a librarian and professor at Western Washington University. In addition to his library duties, he occasionally teaches classes on popular music at Fairhaven College. He is an avid fan and student of Japanese film and popular music.

Tokyo Sonata

  • Tue. 8/17 TBD

119 minutes • 2009 • PG-13 (for thematic elements and brief strong language)

Film Trailer

Official Website

"Known for distinctive horror movies like Cure and Pulse, inventive Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa finds just the right melancholy tone to suit a new and all too familiar kind of horror: economic downsizing. In Tokyo Sonata, a haunting half-dream of a domestic drama, a Tokyo salaryman (Kagawa) loses his job and hides the news from his wife (Koizumi) and two sons by leaving for ''work'' each day. Soon each family member is similarly engrossed in a secret life. Charismatic Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?) plays a mad, mysterious stranger who blows by with his own existential crisis. A–" EW