Review of Tokyo Godfathers

This film is unlike the late Satoshi Kon's other films in that the viewer doesn't wonder if what they are watching is meant to be taken as real or if it is a dream, fantasy or delusion; here it is all real. The fact that it has a traditional narrative doesn't mean it is any less engrossing than his other films though. Set in winter in Tokyo this film follows the lives of three homeless people, one an alcoholic gambler, one a transvestite and one a runaway teenaged girl. On Christmas Eve they find a baby, which they call Kiyoko, abandoned amongst the rubbish and decide that they must return her to her parents. Their self-given mission will lead them to confront they own pasts and the reasons they are homeless and find redemption with those they have wronged. They may be on the bottom rung of the social ladder but for this one week they seemed to be blessed with amazing luck; a man they help just happens to be the future father in-law of the former employee of Kiyoko's mother, a nurse they meet in hospital in the daughter of one of the men and the teenager's father is the policeman who brings Kiyoko's parents to the homeless trio when they want to thank them.

This was another brilliant film from Satoshi Kon; it is a tragedy that this brilliant director died so young. It is impossible to imagine what he would have gone onto achieve. The story, which he wrote as well as directed, is genuinely moving without ever being overly sentimental. The characters are well designed and the animation was first class throughout. While this isn't a comic film there are plenty of moments that made me laugh as well as one or two that almost made me cry. Even if you aren't usually a fan of animated films I'd recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.