The Ozu Collection Reviews

• 1st Mar 2011

The Ozu Collection:

Good Morning (1959)/I Was Born, But… (1932)

and

Equinox Flower (1958)/There Was a Father (1942)

Yasujiro Ozu’s films trace generational conflicts and are subtly presented in masterpieces like Late Spring (1949). Later films such as Early Autumn (1961) also tackle the influences of American culture and consumerism on a younger generation as they tackle the traditions of their parents and it is this that is highlighted in the four films that are presented on these two DVDs and Blu-rays.

In Good Morning and the silent, I Was Born, But… the differences between pre and post war Tokyo are distinctly played out in the two complimentary films. In both films the perspectives are seen through the eyes of two young boys with the latter displaying the influence of American culture in post war Japan. The detail of the picket fences bordering the lower middle-class suburban homes highlight these differences, in the earlier film, the picket fences are shown as purely Japanese in design, whereas in the latter they could have been lifted directly from a 50s American suburb.

Good Morning is set in a built up, uncharacteristic, lower middle-class Tokyo suburb with two young boys defying their parents wishes and venturing to their neighbour’s house to watch sumo wrestling on TV. The parents ground the boys which leads them to take a vow of silence until the parents yield to their demands. I Was Born, But… follows a similar theme with two boys who share conflicts with their parents as they skip school after they move to the new suburb and have to fend off local bullies. In the process, they realise their father is not the big man they thought he was. The boys then go on hunger strike. This is one of many similarities between the two. There are other consistencies in both films such as the games the boys play. In the earlier film the boys and their friends play a ritualistic game in which one boy will lie on the floor until another makes hand movements allowing the boy lying down to get up and in the later film one boy will press another boy’s head inviting him to fart on cue – a comment on the earlier film being silent? What is evident from the earlier of the two films is the gritty almost pre neo-realist style set in a sparse distinctly lower middle-class suburb, compared to the growing and built up suburb of the later film.

On the other disc are two other generational dramas: There Was a Father and his first film shot in colour, Equinox Flower. In 1936 Ozu made his last film before Japan went to war in Manchuria, only making two films between 1936 and his return to cinema in 1947. The version of There Was a Father shown here is the only one extant. The original Japanese edit eventually had its few propaganda elements cut out for American consumption. Ozu favourite Chishu Ryu, in his first starring role plays a teacher who, devastated by the death of a pupil on an excursion retires from his profession and moves to the country with his son. After a while, the father must move to Tokyo for work, leaving his son at boarding school and eventually the pair renew their relationship years later.

Equinox Flower deals with a similar subject, but there is little of the humour apparent on the other disc. It was shot in colour and it is evident that he is revelling in this. The story is about the Wataru family and their dreams about their daughter marrying someone with a position. When it transpires that Setsuko is planning to marry a young office worker, it is met with disapproval from her parents, but she intends to marry him in any case. The colours are very rich throughout and slashes of red are apparent all the way through. However, the drama itself is a little too, dare I say it, feminine and perhaps lacks much of the artistry and drama of some of Ozu’s other films. It focuses on very middle-class behaviour towards your position in society and the idea of an arranged marriage is implied in everything but word. The mise-en-scene, however, is beautifully composed, but this is not enough to sustain the film.

Chris Hick