with #84 we are introduced to acclaimed Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, and his second color film, alternately known as "the fart movie" - LOL
Ozu is one of Japan's well known directors - if Kurosawa pioneered Samurai cinema, Ozu pioneered the family film - his films usually tell stories of the dynamics of families - the most famous one being Tokyo Story, which we'll get to later
This is actually only my second Ozu film - (the first I've see was his last, Autumn Afternoon) - I can tell you he has some interesting framing choices - he likes to shoot from low angles - like someone sitting down on a mat - and when characters are having a dialogue, he doesn't always go for setting them both up in a shot, but will frame them talking to each other as if talking to the camera - with a cut to the listener replying back, to a cut of the other person - staring like they're staring at you into the camera
This is a bit of a comedy about some boys who want a TV and how their antics cause drama in this little Tokyo suburb - (I think it's Tokyo) - it's also a bit of a commentary on neighborhoods and gossip - and it's a pretty good story that went by and was very enjoyable to watch and to see on the screen
One of the things about Ozu is he started directing in the 20's but didn't go to sound till 1936 - (most of those silent films are lost but fragments of one and another are on the blu-ray special edition) - and he didn't start shooting color till 1958, again later than some of his peers - but when he did, that color was like an explosion - the lighting and color and sets in this one are just fascinating - and maybe a bit claustrophobic, because these houses are pretty close together - LOL
there are some fart jokes in this film - in fact a lot of them - but hey - it's comedy - LOL
a pretty good start to Ozu in the collection and we look forward to much more.
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