How can you not love Ozu? He's the most lovely of filmmakers, with his small (yet immense) stories of families and relationships, presented in the most polite way in cinema. Aged only 57, this was one of his last films (he died in 1963- he went out as I came in).
And this is Jane Austen by Ozu! It is! Three elderly former college friends try to matchmake the daughter of a passed fourth and make a hash of it. Naturally the women involved are smarter.
The three men: Shin Saburi, Nobuo Nakamura and Ryuji Kita. And their observations about aging are great, and youth vs age, and the fact they keep lying to their wives and obviously all still fancy the widow.
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| The pipes! |
Loved Yoko Tsukasa not being pushed around by her uncle; claiming not to want marriage for her mother's sake; becoming extremely sulky and petty when she thinks her mother is remarrying. Setsuko Hara is the wonderfully upbeat mother. And the way that friend Mariko Okada becomes so important to the story (she's absolutely delightful).
Keiji Sada is the fiance. (Loved his story about his tantrum with his mother who then died and how you shouldn't quarrel.)
All told through Ozu's precision square on set ups and low camera. And with its atypical music dividing up sections of the story it strangely makes you think of Woodv Allen.
The establishing shots showing Japan in 1960 alone are fascinating. I can even get excited by shots like this - no one in frame, just gently moving patterns of light on the walls:
Another humane, funny and acute study of human behaviour.
Photographed by Yuharu Atsuta (several other Ozu's including Tokyo Story).
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