Tokyo-Ga

Name: Tokyo-Ga
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1985-04-24
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 4.5
Cast: Werner Herzog, Chris Marker, Chishū Ryū, Yûharu Atsuta

Rating

4.5 (1)

Release Date

4/24/1985

Runtime

92 mins

Genres

Documentary

Overview

German director Wim Wenders tries to explore the Tokyo that was depicted in the films of Yasujiro Ozu and finds a very different city.

Status

Released

Original Language

German

Budget

Revenue

Homepage

Visit

How It Feels

Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.

A meditative journey through modern Tokyo as a foreign filmmaker searches for echoes of a classical cinema now transformed by time and modernity. The film feels like a love letter to cinema itself, elegiac, observant, and quietly searching.

Mood

ContemplativeWistfulMelancholic

Themes

MemoryArt and creationTechnology

Tone

Tender

Pacing

Meditative

Look

Documentary-likeNaturalistic

Structure

Single location

Yûharu Atsuta

Self

Werner Herzog

Self

Chishū Ryū

Self

Chris Marker

Self (uncredited)

Reviews

nicolascagegoons

Aug 27, 2026

i haven't seen any of ozu's films, maybe i should have but even without that knowledge, the passion of wim wenders is still seen in this visually pleasing documentary.
wenders struggles seeking what he wants to find but quickly learns that ozu's stories are still there, in tokyo because of the people who knew him.
the cinematography of this documentary is like eye candy, its breath taking and feels to immaculate. especially in night where it feels like when you are late out at night, later then you were suppose to.
(watch my new 79 film https://boxd.it/10y7I )