This movie is all about secrets. No, not this kind of Secret... Tokyo Sonata shows one ordinary family that is a family by blood, but they are strangers to each other. This family spirals down out of control when the father, Ryûhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa), is fired from his office job. He decides to keep his unemployment a secret, but his wife, Megumi Sasaki (Kyôko Koizumi), eventually finds out. The secrets that Megumi keeps are well kept, but they hurt her as the pressure builds. Ryûhei's secret spreads misery to himself and his family as he detaches himself from the people around him. In order to keep his authority in the Japanese family, he objects to the accomplishments of his sons: Kenji (Inowaki Kai) wants to enroll in piano lessons and Takashi (Yû Koyanagi) wants to join the military. Each of the family members go through different adventures that make them stronger.
Tokyo Sonata was empowering. Although there isn't much action (for the first half, at least), every moment is intense. The depression and feelings of hopelessness take jabs at you when you connect with each character. The movie takes takes the time to thoroughly introduce the audience to every character and to get a good idea of what they're thinking. I thought the piano teacher wasn't developed that well, but she's just a minor character. The story is beautiful and surprisingly realistic in terms of unemployment and depression. The second half of the movie has a turn in the plot--a little strange, but it's um...interesting? strange. The open-ending was a little abrupt, but you gotta love that piano solo.
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