At the start of 2003 Satoshi Kon, who tragically passed in 2010, was on the verge of releasing his latest film ‘Tokyo Godfathers’. Two years prior he released the perhaps under-watched, but quite excellent film, ‘Millennium Actress’. That film followed his debut directorial film in 1997, his influential and critically lauded Perfect Blue, whose impact has, at times controversially, included such works as Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’. With these two films ‘Perfect Blue’ and ‘Millenium Actress’, Satoshi Kon had already begun to establish himself as an auteur director, whose films served both as engaging entertainment but also deeper interrogations of cultural issues and personal identity. Kon was also already known for his experimentalism, with story and often the inclusion of surrealist fantasy elements, which gave them both David Lynch-ian qualities that would continue to be part of Kon’s own trademark style. If in early 2003 you had told me at the time then that Kon was set to release a Christmas film, I would’ve been quite surprised; however, much like all of his other films, ‘Tokyo Godfathers’ speaks to issues at the personal and societal level, in his own winding way, while also providing an engaging, heartfelt story perfect for the holiday season.
If you are not familiar with ‘Tokyo Godfathers’, it is the story of three people, a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, a trans woman named Hana, and a teenage runaway named Miyuki, who have all been beset by homelessness. Despite their differences and backgrounds they have formed a perhaps unlikely friendship. One Christmas Eve they discover an abandoned baby and together they trek across the city to find the baby’s parents. What happens next is a winding tail throughout Tokyo that takes place all in one evening. The trio encounter many unique characters that make up the city, confront and reveal more of their past to each other, and attempt to save this lost child while perhaps finding some peace in their own lives along the way.
Tokyo Godfathers, like many great Christmas films before it, has found an audience of which I include myself who loves to revisit this story each Christmas season. While it of course has many of the essential elements of any Christmas tale, Kon’s stands apart both because of the characters it depicts, who are atypical as leads for many movies let alone Christmas films, but also for his style, which though more grounded than his previous films, is still uniquely Kon. Tokyo Godfathers will have you laugh in one scene, and cry in the next, and all the while you will root for these characters to save the baby and to find their own salvation, spiritual or otherwise.
AXCN Presents Tokyo Godfathers in Theaters
Satoshi Kon is screening in the U.S. on December 11th, 12, and 13th with a 4k restoration of Tokyo Godfathers for its 20th century anniversary. This screening is part of Anime Expo Cinema Nights (AXCN), which includes screenings of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie January 21-23, 2024, and Paprika on February 7-11, 2024. Both Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika are a part of AXCN’s Satoshi Kon Fest, which features the work of the late director.
Anime Expo Cinema Nights invites you to celebrate TOKYO GODFATHERS, the acclaimed holiday classic from master director Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue), as it returns to theaters to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a 4K restoration under the supervision of the original art director and producers. On Christmas Eve, three homeless companions stumble upon a baby girl in a garbage heap. They name her Kiyoko, and vow to care for her as they track down her family. Haunted by memories of their own broken pasts and pursued by a cast of shadowy characters from Tokyo’s nightlife, Hana, Gin and Miyuki overcome their differences and learn to trust one another as a new, makeshift family. With the New Year fast approaching, the mystery behind baby Kiyoko deepens, and these unlikely heroes discover the surprising — and sometimes miraculous — connections that have brought them all together.
