Tokyo Story (1953)

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Before I learned to use the phrase “It’s like an Ozu film,” I had to string together words like simple, classic, beautiful, and grace; mention themes of life/change and tradition/modernity; and improperly use nouns such as humanity, everyday, and harmony as adjectives.  As I struggled to find a response to a fellow film geek’s review of Tokyo Story, I started watching the film without subtitles—initially on accident—and I realized just how much visual depth and textures (without the distraction of subtitles) were captured by Ozu’s camera.  His films are obvious, told simply and clearly—their methods of storytelling don't obscure its themes so that the audience feels smart for figuring out its meaning (through gimmicks that feign complexity).

Tokyo Story is art at its most humane.  It explores the generational gap between parents and their grown-up children.  Now adults, the children find themselves too busy with their own lives to properly mind their parents who have come a long way to visit them.  Ozu’s films are timeless, not because their stories feel like they could happen today (although, that is also true) but rather they are timeless because it makes the viewer feel as one of their time.

A 200-word review/rebuttal of James Blake Ewing's Tokyo Story review at Cinema Sights. 

Enjoy: Sense of Cinema on Yasujiro Ozu and articles by Roger Ebert, The Great Movies and on Ozu.
The 4-minute (Criterion Collection) trailer and more screens after the jump...

Late Spring (1949) / Late Autumn (1960)

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Late Spring (1949)

Late Autumn (1960)

Ozu revisits his own work with Late Autumn (1960)—recalling Late Spring (1949)—and puts his muse Setsuko Hara at the heart of both.  She plays the daughter in 1949 and the widowed mother in 1960.  Both plots are similar, with the daughter in each film not wanting to marry and leave their widowed parent alone (a father played by Chishû Ryû in Spring and a mother played by Setsuko Hara in Autumn).  While Late Spring is generally more regarded of the two, it’s the storytelling and structure of Late Autumn that feels like it continues to open and bloom.

Here's some links to a trailer for Late Autumn and a fan-made montage from Late Spring.

Both films can be streamed in HD using Hulu Plus along with other works by Ozu. How to get a free month.

If you have Netflix, you can stream Tokyo Story (one of my top ten movies that should be in my top ten list but is not).

Film reviews in fifty words, a new series (2011); times two, one hundred words for two films.