385. Sanma no aji

Sanma no aji
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:

354. Ukigusa

Ukigusa
Floating Weeds
1959
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

I rented this movie as soon as I finished The Elegance of a Hedgehog.  The main character was so enthralled by the beauty of the film that it made her cry.  I, on the other hand, was rather bored and unimpressed.  Either I am not as sensitive as she is or I am not as easily impressed as she is.  I think it is the former.

Basically, this is the story of Komajuro, who has a son with a former mistress. The son, Kiyoshi, does not know that Komajuro is his father.  Komajuro's current mistress becomes jealous and Shakespearean-esque schemes ensue.

Ozu has a very traditional style of story telling that I cannot get into.  He is absolutely fascinated with the relationship of different generations.  I, however, am not that interested in that theme.  In fact, I get along fine with older generations, though I do have to help them with computers a lot.

Additionally, this film is basically just like Tokyo Story, though I enjoyed that a lot more than this film. There was nothing new here, though we did get some pretty shots.

Overall, I wasn't too thrilled and I have seen Ozu do better.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

DONE WITH THE FIFTIES!!!

One of Roger Ebert's favorite films.  Now I feel ashamed that I did not like it.

257. Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story
1953
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

I originally watched this film because it was mentioned in one of my favorite books of all time, The Elegance of a Hedgehog.  The main character would frequently rave about Japanese cinema.  I had no experience in Japanese films back then but pretty much took her word for it.  Now, of course, I am obsessed.  All thanks go to The Book!

Anyway, this one disappointed me a bit.  So far, I have not been able to find anyone that makes this comparison so I guess I will be the first to say it.  It is exactly like Make Way For Tomorrow.  Oh wait, scratch that.  I just looked at the IMDb page and it said that the scriptwriter was inspired by Make Way for Tomorrow.  Guess I am not as special as I thought I was.  Sad…

Although Tokyo Story usually listed as one of the greatest films of all time, I am not sure they did it that much better than MWFT.  Not to say this is a bad film, just not astounding.  Ozu's camerawork is certainly creative; it seems like the camera just sits on the ground the entire time of filming, making it seem almost like a documentary.

I guess I have been so impressed with Japanese cinema that this one disappointed me a bit.  I am really selling it short, though.  It is a great film and one that should definitely be watched.  Damn my unreasonably high expectations.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The camera technique I described is called the "tatami-shot".

The film largely sides with the parents.  Ozu lived with his mother for most of his life.