An Autumn Afternoon
1962
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Today we are finishing the Ozu movies, which for me is a relief since I find most of his movies quite dull. I apologize for not writing sooner but since I no longer have DVDs sent to me through Netflix, getting some of these films has been a bit of a challenge.
I really wish I was the kind of person who enjoyed this movies. In The Elegance of the Hedgehog, the main character drinks tea as she watches Floating Weeds. I guess I am 0 for 2 because I hate tea. My version would be drinking Diet Coke while watching Taratino movies. That is a lot less poetic.
Anyway, this is the story of Shuhei and his children. Shuhei has a drinking problem and ends up relying heavily on his daughter for support, even though everyone encourages him to marry her off. Shuhei also has a son who is a total leech, but that is more of a subplot.
The main reason I disliked this movie would count as a spoiler and since I don't have spoilers on this site, I have to refrain from mentioning it. This, of course, makes for a somewhat crappy review. I guess I can add that the movie relies heavily on dialogue and there is very little plot here. While I find that acceptable when the dialogue blows me away, I just was not that impressed.
So we say farewell to Ozu, who was never really my cup of Diet Coke.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
The camera remains completely static throughout the movie.
Trailer:
hmmm... I do not think Shuhei has a drinking problem. the drinking is part of his social activities with his friends. His problem is that he has to accept that he is getting old and that his children will leave the nest and become independent. It is tempting for him and in japanese culture to hand on to your adult children but he finds out that he has to let go. This is parralel to the shift Japan was going through as it entered modernity, to let go of the past and embrace the future even if it feels less comforting.
ReplyDeleteAs you may read from this I loved this movie.