Outwardly simple, beautifully nuanced and utterly heartbreaking, Ozu’s Tokyo Story remains, even after 70 years, one of cinema’s most enduring masterpieces. Elderly couple Tomi and Shukichi decide to visit their grown-up children in bustling post-war Tokyo. The experience is bewildering; it’s a sweltering summer and they do not receive the welcome they deserve from their own offspring. A wealth of domestic detail reveals a compelling contrast between the dignity of age and the insensitivity of a younger generation. Stylised and restrained though it is, this is a film that manages to evoke exactly how fragile and ephemeral life is.

Director: Yasujirō Ozu
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Toru Abu, Setsuko Hara
Japan, 1953, 2 hours 16 minutes, Japanese + English subtitles