Tony Takitani Analysis Essay Example

which is a part of European culture, as well as a personal addiction of hers.

When Takitani Shozaburo is in prison, he expects to be executed at any moment. In other countries, prisoners know whether they will be executed or not. The appearance of the film Tony Takitani is simple and clean with a dark, low-contrast color palette. Jun Ichikawa uses few colors to convey what the characters see and feel.

The whole film has a light tint with soft focus on dark, dreary colors that almost disappear. Simplicity is central in the film. The music doesn’t change much from scene to scene except for volume and the key. Ichikawa places everything intentionally.

Every object placed in a shot has a reason for being there. When Tony is living a lonely life, he seldom has a cluttered or full screen of objects around him. One shot in particular that demonstrates this and the rule of thirds is when Tony is sitting in his house, and the screen is divided into three segments by the doorway. On the left is a table with few objects upon it.

In the middle is a vacant doorway with a clear view of outside, and on the right is Tony’s desk. Tony moves from one space to another throughout the shot, using each space differently.

The utilization of obstructed view makes the viewer wonder what he or she is missing. It creates mystery and different points of view. Often the camera is focused on the feet of Eiko which shows her vast shoe collection and the way she walks, but not her complimenting outfit. Icikawa’s use of actor’s is ironic

and effective to the point of the film and the characters’ stories.

He uses the same actor for Konuma Eiko and Hisako and does the same for both Tony Takitani and his father, Takitani Shozaburo.

Tony attempts to replace Eiko with Hisako by providing her with Eiko’s clothing. There are reflections of Shozaburo in Tony throughout the film. While he is playing trombone on stage, the camera cuts back and forth from him to Tony.

At the beginning viewers see him lying in his prison cell with his back to the screen, and near the end there is a shot of Tony lying the same way in his own cell—Eiko’s former dressing room. Though they are played by the same actors, both sets of characters represent the same people, but aren’t the same to the people around them.