A walk through the empty landscape of post war Japan. Bizarre Ozu, most of what one expect of him is there, just upside down. Almost an Oshima forerunner.

Even with his lesser works, Ozu proves to be excellent director and here the subtle humor with its wonderful details as well as the human drama with its Chekhovian turns truly draws from the things he was always good at and was going to master later. Actually, it's hard to say if it really is a "lesser work" because everything is good in it - perhaps I just made an assumption that could be turned other way around, this obscure gem that took years to find is definitely lesser seen, not necessarily a lesser film. Hell, while thinking about it and writing this, I'm raising the rating from four to five for I honestly cannot realize what could be at fault here. Perhaps only the reason that Ozu was so consistently masterful makes it hard to find "lesser films" and we might find flaws where they actually do not exist. Perfect film I guess.

In Nagaya shinshiroku, Ozu explores themes such as abandonment, loneliness and the everyday life of a society that is beginning a difficult process of reconstruction with his characteristic sensitivity. Through this simple story of the bond that emerges between a grumpy woman and an innocent-looking child abandoned in post-war Japan, the director invites us to reflect on ourselves, individualism and the importance of being solidary and empathetic not only in difficult times. The story takes a while to settle down and may feel underdeveloped, but it ends up rewarding the viewer with moving moments like the scene at the beach and that of the orphaned children playing in Ueno Park.

can’t stop doing the shoulder wave now

35mm. Film Forum.

i want to hug kohei and tell him everything will be fine and I'll be there for him in every way possible if, and only if he teaches him how to do those smooth shoulder waves

This one is funny, which is probably why I’m rating it higher than the other Ozus. Call me a sucker for comedy, but I also found the story genuinely touching, kind of a reverse Kid With A Bike narrative where the kid is more or less a good kid, and the woman takes him despite being extremely reluctant to do so. Saw a few people cite the ending as somewhat cheap, but I think it works because the narrative is not about the boy finding a mother, but the mother learning to love someone else and thus herself, which can only happen in his absence.

Something tells me this is Hirokazu Kore-eda's favourite Ozu film

Often incredibly funny, probably the hardest I've actually laughed at any of his films, this feels like Ozu's last silent film. There's still lots of talking, as one might expect, but the boy's stonefaced expression and lack of dialogue is very reminiscent of Buster Keaton, most likely intentionally seeing how in love with Harold Lloyd Ozu was early in his career.
It's not all lighthearted though, to view it solely as a comedy would be to miss half of the film; how it explores rural communities and the response and after effect to the second world war.
Absolutely wonderful if not nearly as long as I would hope for. Certainly one of Ozu's more unique pictures and also one of his best.

After the war, Ozu finds a decimated Japan and acts with great humanity, turning the camera on humanistic stories as a response. A young boy seeks shelter in a war torn village, that Ozu loves to shoot quietly, favoring desolate scenery shots and a human act of reclamation over what was once there. The greatest restoration is that of compassion that a village learns from a child they initially reject, but grow to love and learn from. I sadly do not believe the kid actor either, usual for me, but he did his best. With a deft, light touch, Ozu finds the humanity of each moment. There are enough reviews here that question its sentimentality but I find it wholly necessary to the story and meaning of the picture. I am a sucker anyway for films about learning compassion from children. That’s sure where I learned about real empathy, from my daughter.

Only Ozu could realize the poetry of a piss-stained blanket blowing in the wind.

My heart!

The Films of Yasujiro Ozu #2

72/100

Charming

This feels definitely like one of Ozu's slighter efforts.

Yasujirō Ozu films ranked

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

reminds me of the time my neighbor brought back a homeless japanese boy and i got stuck with him

The kid is the Japanese version of Enzo Staiola

+1:The look of it is great, with the framing and the drowned out shots
+1:The character arcs are great in this film, especially the mother. At some points you hate her, but at some points, you understand her or feel for her
+1:I felt uncomfortable about the manners and sad for the kid and women at the end
-1:The women changed her attitude super quickly it felt like she was another person and it should have been gradual
-1:There shouldn't have been so many characters since a lot of them weren't that developed. I wished that they stuck with the man with a cap, the woman, and the kid. Also, some of the dialogue was unnecessary. Also, I don't like the chin strap stuff was more comedic and went against the tone of those moments
Overall: Despite my rating, a bunch of stuff off it was really good, but those negatives made it ranked off.

A delicate, quiet film, its images framed by squares which bring the characters closer together. Ozu is fascinated by the mundane, the motionless objects in the background of the drama. At several points, we stop to observe a cat, a tea pot, an empty street, a blanket on a clothesline. The drama is in these moments, too.

What has made adults so cautious of love and acceptance? What went wrong along the way? And what does it take to remedy that callousness? Not much, as it turns out; our decency is just under the surface.

Thought a lot about John Ford for the compositions. Something about the way they frame characters make every character seem larger than itself, indicating a larger societal symbolism in the character, while also keying into the specific situation and emotions of the character within the compositions. What also beautiful here is how often Ozu allows the film to wander. The scene of the older woman wandering looking for the child seems very indicative of the directions Antonioni would go over a decade later. Its a beautiful little movie, my only complaint would be how the film gets a little didactic and melodramatic at the end without any of the irony or bite that a director like Ford would have with such a plainly spoken moral.

Gonna watch a bunch of Ozu over the next few weeks.

Man knows how to get me feeling nice and chilled.

(Loved this. Bittersweet, sentimental without being mawkish, and with an underlying hard edge in its hardscrabble backdrop of a post-WW2, bombed-out Japan.)

A simple film but very heartwarming