Two young women, struggling to define their own destinies against class-defined expectations, form an unlikely friendship.
Aristocrats
Present-day Tokyo. 27-yr-old Hanako dismays her moneyed family by announcing a split from her fiancé. Desperate to see her married, they set up a series of potential love-matches, none of which clicks until she meets Koichiro, scion of an equally well-to-do family looking for a suitable wife to support his prospective career in politics. Meanwhile, 32-yr-old Miki is from the sticks and is studying at a prestigious university. She’s struggling over money but is confident and driven, and has her eye on one of the boys from the wealthy set, name of Koichiro. The trajectories of these two women, describing paths defined by class distinctions, would normally never cross, but when they do Hanako and Miki find they have much in common.
Rather like the aristocrats of the title, Yukiko Sode’s assured third feature has impeccable manners and poise. Watching it is like observing a craftsperson create an intricate and exquisite piece of fabric - narrative threads are laid and interweave to form the whole as we follow the fortunes of these two ‘arasa’ (women aged around 30), pressured by societal norms to conform yet quietly determined to find their own way through life in the big city. As well as being an outstanding piece of cinema in the humanist tradition of Japanese master Yasujirō Ozu, Aristocrats is also something of a love letter to Tokyo, and while it never bellows its feminist credentials from the rooftops, it incisively delivers a critique of the situation in which many young women find themselves in modern Japan.
View more
View less