Seems to be part of being an editor is to read and watch absolutely everything to do with your magazines subject. Maybe that’s obvious, and I’m not complaining.

Over the next few weeks Sirin and I are following the Yasujiro Ozu season up at The Filmhouse Cinema. I have to confess I’d never seen any of this classic Japanese directors work, and we were pleasantly surprised by “Tokyo Story” last night. Unexpectedly accessible for a Japanese a movie of the 50s, with exceptional attension to details: the relationships between the depicted family members was almost painful to watch at times as our “hands” (as mere voyeurs) are tied and out vision fixed by the static knee-high camera work. It’s a great film, the characters believable and the story down to Earth, and as someone who studies Japanese culture this film really felt like a snapshot of “real life” in post-war Japan.

We’ve posted a review over at BiteSizedJapan.