As the Japanese art world stirs in response to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, film producer Shochiku Co. said it will postpone its remake of Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 film masterpiece “Tokyo Story” to allow veteran director Yoji Yamada to incorporate the social effects of the disaster into the script.
Shochiku announced in December that it would remake Ozu’s classic under the title “Tokyo Family,” bringing the poignant tale of an elderly couple’s trip from the countryside to see their grown-up children in Tokyo into the present day.
Production was due to start on the first of this month–with release scheduled for December this year–but the company said it will now begin shooting a new script in early 2012. “Would it have been right to make this film as if the disaster never happened?” asked Mr. Yamada, 79, in a statement released by Shochiku. “Perhaps the March 11 disaster will change both the city of Tokyo and the Japanese peoples’ way of being.”
[via Natsumi Hayashi]
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