A carefree, wealthy family endures the minor discomforts of being suddenly less wealthy in 1941's Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (戸田家の兄妹). Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, I found myself reminded at times of his most famous film, Tokyo Story, made thirteen or so years later. Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family has nothing to compare with the later film's impact but it has a few points of interest.
The first act of the film is the best. The patriarch of the large Toda family, Shintaro Toda (Hideo Fujino), suddenly has a heart attack following his 69th birthday party. The suspense is really effective after we get one shot of him rolling over in pain. Ozu's usual style of cutting from one low, still camera shot to another is perfectly complemented by the bewildered, sluggish response of the whole family.
Shintaro's wife (Ayako Katsuragi) shuffles to the door, tells a servant, who goes down the hall to where the youngest daughter, Setsuko (Mieko Takamine), decides to call the eldest brother, Shinichiro (Tatsuo Saito), who's a doctor. Cut to Shinichiro's home where he's enjoying a quiet conversation with his wife. Word is passed to him about the phone call and he wonders what could be the matter. All this time, the viewer is painfully aware of Shintaro in pain, receiving no assistance.
After his death, it turns out he'd been guarantor for a now bankrupt company so the surviving Toda family is on the hook for a lot of debt. They have to sell most of his assets and the two women who'd been living in his household, his wife and youngest daughter, are sort of left homeless. Only a small, run down, seaside property is left to them and it's considered too shabby for them to inhabit. So they go to live with first one sibling then another, in the hopes of killing time until Setsuko finds a husband. It's this that really reminded me of Tokyo Story, the focus on two awkward house-guests. There's even a scene of Setsuko and her mother trying to sleep while loud music plays in another room, a scene Ozu used again in Tokyo Story.
The film's conclusion is oddly mild, especially compared to the deep and powerful ending to Tokyo Story. The most interesting character in Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family is the second eldest brother, Shojiro (Shin Saburi), who's introduced as being a little lazy and disrespectful, yet who turns out to be the one with his head on the straightest by the end. Knowledge of the future adds some extra tension to this film made in 1941--Shojiro has a job in Japanese occupied China which is implied to be stable or lucrative. So much for that.
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family is available on The Criterion Channel.
Twitter Sonnet #1661
With having shored the flour up she'd start.
A heavy room's required, hard to press.
But humid heat's a thought to soothe the smart.
Amidst the oven haze, she lost her dress.
A picture beach presides beside the home.
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With little thought she drew a razor comb.
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A blossom pattern wove her apron first.
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The morning pantry greets a breakfast burst.
By noon, her cooling pie's a wholesome sight.
Debated cakes were left too long outside.
She slowly sits and tries to now decide.
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