With his extremely modest and unassuming
movies, the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu paradoxically
created what are among the most profoundly poetic studies of
human relationships ever committed to celluloid.
In belated commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ozu’s birth
– he died of cancer in 1963, on his 60th birthday – BAMCinematek
presents "Tokyo Stories: Yasujiro Ozu," a series of
the master director’s signature films, from July 6-Aug. 24.
Ozu began his career in Japan’s silent era, and many of his earliest
works have unfortunately been lost. The 36 surviving films were
shown as a sidebar in last fall’s New York Film Festival, and
the BAMCinematek program presents not quite half of those. These
17 films are from all phases of Ozu’s career – except the silent
era – beginning with his first all-sound effort, "The Only
Son," which he made in 1936, and ending with his last film,
"An Autumn Afternoon," released right before his death.
It’s been said in film circles that Ozu was considered the "most
Japanese" of that country’s most renowned directors because
it was his films that most realistically displayed what it meant
for ordinary people to live ordinary lives. In stark contrast
to the other famous Japanese directors of the era, Akira Kurosawa
and Kenji Mizoguchi, Ozu was the only one who rarely strayed
from creating small-scaled character studies.
Perhaps that was the main reason why it took Ozu and his films
so long to become well known in America: distributors seemed
quite reluctant to import films that seemed too "foreign"
to domestic audiences. But Ozu’s intimately pared-down dramas
soon struck chords among critics and discerning moviegoers, and
now Ozu is referred to with the admiration and respect accorded
all great filmmakers.
As the entries in the "Tokyo Stories" series show,
there is always a common decency, humility and happiness tinged
with melancholy underlying all of Ozu’s films. He inexhaustibly
explores life, as it’s lived by hardworking, "regular"
people who are not usually shown onscreen.
Ozu’s very titles often explain his intentions. Although there
are occasional descriptive titles like "The Flavor of Green
Tea Over Rice" (showing July 23) or "Equinox Flower"
(Aug. 15) – both of these pictures, by the way, are among Ozu’s
very best – mostly, it’s a succession of seemingly interchangeable
titles, each of them alluding to the serene sameness of his artistic
methods.
Whether it’s the masterpiece "Late Spring" (July 9),
the equally transfixing "Early Summer" (July 16), or
the unbearably sad "Late Autumn," Ozu’s penultimate
feature (Aug. 19), the barebones information in the titles belies
the intensity of the feelings contained within the films themselves.
Even in this group of lovely, important films, one stands out
above the others. That is Ozu’s 1953 all-time classic, "Tokyo
Story" (Aug. 8), where another deceptively simple title
sums up both everything and nothing about this brilliant, unsettling
study of alienation. It is on a par with the best of Ingmar Bergman’s
films.
When an elderly couple living in the country visits their big-city
children, naturally no one can make any time to be with them.
The kids eventually ship them off to a nearby spa just to get
rid of them for awhile. But upon returning to their home, the
old lady is stricken by a fatal disease, and the children – now
obviously guilt-ridden – come running back.
Rudimentary plot summary always does a disservice to the subtleties
of Ozu’s films; it is no different with "Tokyo Story."
In this intensely moving drama, the director’s control over the
characters and their emotions, actions and interactions is nothing
short of masterly.
Much has been spoken and written about what has been dubbed "the
Ozu shot," a low-angle camera shot of the characters, who
often are seated on the traditional Japanese tatami mats. But
this seemingly simplistic visual strategy is, finally, enormously
complex, since it forces the viewer to concentrate so intently
on those characters that they gradually become confidants and
– yes – even old, beloved friends.
There are many other films to heartily recommend in this series:
"Floating Weeds," a wise remake of Ozu’s own silent-era
classic (Aug. 17); "Good Morning," a gentle comedy
about two young boys who refuse to speak until their parents
get them a television set (Aug. 13); and the aforementioned "Autumn
Afternoon," a heartbreakingly elegiac study, and a perfect
cinematic epitaph for its director.
All of Ozu’s films contain enough wit and insight, laughter and
tears to be worth a couple of hours of anyone’s time. A humanist
filmmaker blessed with uncommon grace and rigor in equal measures,
Ozu was the rare artist who could elevate the quotidian into
the sublime.
"Tokyo Stories: Yasujiro Ozu"
will be shown at the BAMCinematek, 30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland
Place in Fort Greene, from July 6 to Aug. 24. Tickets are $10.
For a complete list of films, screening dates and times visit
www.bam.org or call (718) 636-4100.
