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Film: Late Spring
Release date: 19th July 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Yasijiro Ozu
Starring: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura, Hohi Aoki
Genre: Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Beginning his six film partnership with muse Setsuko Hara, Late Spring is the first of Yasujiro Ozu’s Noriko trilogy, three films that explore the fragility of the Japanese family unit in the wake of World War II. Along with Tokyo Story, this film is widely regarded as the director’s best work.
Noriko Somiya is the 27-year-old daughter of a kindly professor Shukichi, and she leads a happy life alongside her father. Single and with no plans to marry, Noriko has classical opinions of love and marriage, illustrated by a visit from her father’s colleague Onedara, who she believes to be “dirty” because he has re-married.
Following this is a visit from Noriko’s aunt, who mentions to Shukichi that Noriko should be wed, suggesting that she pursue the interests of his assistant Hattori. Hattori is already engaged. Noriko’s aunt soon finds her another potential husband, while at the same time attempting to find a partner for Shukichi to fill Noriko’s role. Soon Noriko resigns herself to the arranged marriage, yet a trip to Kyoto with her father shows Noriko how much she does not want things to change. Noriko goes ahead with the wedding anyway and finally separates from her father…
The Noriko trilogy is essentially a series of variations on the same tale; a girl is badgered into marriage by her family, friends and societal convention. This girl is played by Setsuko Hara, whose creative relationship with Ozu is equally as important as the great cinematic partnerships, such as Mifune and Kurosawa or Wayne and Ford. Hara is the heart and soul of these films, and in Late Spring her performance is often heartbreaking.
The film is certainly the most sombre variation on the Noriko tale, as it deals with the sundering of a loving relationship between father and daughter. As usual with Ozu’s narratives, exterior forces surround the protagonists, pressuring them into choices they do not agree with. Noriko’s aunt meddles in the lives of her and Shukichi’s - kick starting a chain of events that will eventually tear them apart. Noriko’s sister lives a leisurely life after divorcing her first husband, she dutifully informs her sister of the dark side of love and men. Meanwhile, Shukichi (played by the brilliantly versatile Chisu Ryu, who would go on to play characters of varying ages in the other Noriko films) only wants what he thinks is right for his daughter, even if he does not want it himself - the scene in which Noriko asks if he really wants her to leave and be replaced is truly heartrending.
A highly technical director, Ozu employs many bold stylistic methods in his films, many of which are evident here. What is most noticeable in Late Spring is the fluidity of the editing, showcased in an extended sequence of a Noh play. The film’s centrepiece, this scene captures both the inner turmoil of the central character and the blissful ignorance of her father. Static close-ups and wide angle mid-shots transition between the haunting beauty of the performers and the slowly deteriorating mood of Noriko - it’s a bravura sequence, one of Ozu’s best.
Ozu’s films are never concerned with narrative convention, and are often stark and minimalist in terms of plotting; as such we never really experience anything here other than Noriko’s central dilemma. This singular focus may seem like a failing, yet as the film’s closing moments approach, and Noriko disappears from view, both Shukichi and the viewer experience an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
In this bleak tale of love and loss, Setsuko Hara is dazzling in her first role as Noriko. Among Ozu’s finest work, Late Spring sees the maverick director at the very peak of his power. KT
Film: Early Summer
Release date: 19th July 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Setsuko Hara, Mamiya, Chishû Ryû, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake, Ichirô Sugai
Genre: Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Continuing his collaboration with Setsuko Hara, Early Summer is the second film in Yasujiro Ozu’s Noriko trilogy. Focusing on many of themes explored throughout his films, this is another highpoint in a directing career filled with them.
Noriko is a successful, middle class girl making her way in post war Japan. She lives in a large household comprised of her parents and her brother’s family.
Dividing her time between work, socialising with her friends and helping out her family, Noriko has little time for romance and marriage - this is a concern for her family, who believe she must be wed.
Politically minded and empowered by the social shift that has occurred after the war, Noriko has radical ideas about relationships and marriage, which complicates things when a marriage is orchestrated for her. Meanwhile, her parents lament the loss of family and friends to the war, and place hope in the happiness of their daughter.
Noriko eventually chooses to marry her old friend Kenkichi, as a special favour to his mother, but this decision does not sit well with her family. Noriko finally decides to ignore her families concerns and marry Kenkichi…
Like many of the films made in the latter half of Yasujiro Ozu’s prolific career, Early Summer is about the aftermath of war and the splintering effect it can have on the modern Japanese family. It’s also about the struggle of the individual against the influence of accepted society and familial meddling.
In this case, the one striving to make her own way in life, unhindered by the marital machinations of her family, is Noriko, played once again by the radiant Setsuko Hara. Ozu chooses to focus on the family unit and how tensions can often rise from a steadfast adherence to tradition. Noriko’s family wishes her to be wed for what they believe to be her own good, not for her happiness. Noriko, who argues women’s rights with her co-workers, and chides her married friends, chooses to marry because she feels it is right for her.
Hara is perfect in the central role - her unwavering optimism and playful smile completely at odds with those around her. Her mother and father struggle to cope with the loss of their son, while her brother Koichi (played by Tokyo Story’s Chisu Ryu) is frustrated by his sister’s hesitations. Hara is often a contrasting presence in Ozu’s films, and Early Summer is no exception.
Ultimately a positive story, like many of the director’s films, there are moments of overwhelming sadness. With Early Summer, it is the divisive conclusion, which sees a resolution to the central dilemma at the cost of the central characters happiness. If anything this highlights Ozu’s intelligent approach to traditional narrative - there is no hope for the characters, just the promise of hope.
As a portrait of the Japanese family unit after World War II, Early Summer is a triumph. Ozu once again adds political subtext and social commentary to a conventional narrative, coaxing another mesmerising performance out of Setsuko Hara along the way. KT
Film: Tokyo Story
Release date: 19th July 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 136 mins
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, So Yamamura
Genre: Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Regarded by many as the finest work of maverick Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, Tokyo Story continued to display the director’s signature minimalist style, a style that was largely ignored by western audiences who favoured the samurai epics of Kurosawa over his delicate dramas.
The film opens on the image of elderly couple Shukichi and Tomi quietly packing and preparing to meet their children in Tokyo, excited and filled with pride at producing such successful offspring.
They arrive at the capital to stay with their eldest child Koichi and are greeted by his family and their eldest daughter Shige. Initially granted a warm welcome and promised many activities, it soon becomes clear that Tomi and Shukichi’s children cannot fit them into their busy lifestyles. Koichi, a paediatrician, struggles to find time away from his patients, while daughter Shige doesn’t seem interested in them at all. The only accommodating presence in Tokyo seems to be Noriko, the widow of Tomi and Shukichi’s second son. Noriko spends a lot of time with them and is as appreciative as if she was there real daughter.
During their journey home, Shukichi is taken ill and later dies. The children and Noriko visit Tomi for the funeral, once again Koichi and Shige display selfishness and disrespect towards their parents...
Yasujiro Ozu is perhaps the finest director Japan has ever produced. His stark filmmaking style is akin to that of the nouvelle vague and the Italian neo realist period. Evolving over time, Ozu’s films focus on narrative and performance, eschewing traditional Hollywood conventions in favour of bold stylistic choices such as the ‘atami shot’, a low angle camera position that the director pioneered. The ‘atami’ fixes the viewers gaze in such a way as to observe the proceedings from a kneeling position, often bringing us to the same level as his characters.
Tokyo Story is a perfect example of this wonderful craft. A film that unfolds at its own pace with a simplistic narrative, yet it’s the complexity of the characters in which Ozu and co-writer Kogo Noda place the most focus.
The narrative itself is steadfastly linear, allowing story and character to breathe. The central family are at odds with their own lives; Tomi and Shukichi are in their twilight years and only wish to be around family. They find their every attempt blighted by the hectic lifestyles of the stoic Koichi and the selfish Shige. Brief moments of heartfelt drama punctuate the film, like Shukichi lamenting the end of her life to the youngest of Koichi’s family, a sequence that highlights how often the director juxtaposes uplifting sentiment with great sorrow. Another example of this is present in one of the film’s rare light-hearted moments when Tomi meets with some old friends for a drink - the scene is bookended by bleak ruminations on death and regret.
Perhaps the films most heartbreaking moment comes when son Keizo, rarely seen or mentioned throughout the film, arrives late to the death of Shukichi - the shot of Keizo seeing his mother’s body captures perfectly the overwhelming sadness on his face. In a film about contained feelings, the impact of this scene is tangible.
Setsuko Hara is the beating heart of the film. As Noriko, she represents all that Tomi and Shukichi expect from their children but do not receive. Ironically, she is also the only one who attempts to make sense of Koichi and Shige’s selfish behaviour to faithful daughter Kyoko. It’s clear that director and camera love Hara - Ozu’s lovingly crafted shot compositions revering her delicate features. As well as Hara, the film is populated with strong performances, particularly from Cheiko Higashiyama, who impresses as the families softly spoken patriarch - his recognition of Noriko in the film’s closing moments is strangely uplifting.
Tokyo Story is a beautiful yet bittersweet portrait of regret and death. Ozu’s unassuming directorial style finds humanity in verisimilitude, his ‘atami shot’ mining raw emotion from his actors naturalist performances. A true masterpiece. KT
