Yasujiro Ozu: Good morning…

Shell — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:08:22 +0000

Tonight was our next film in the fantastic Yasujiro Ozu season at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh. Again tonight’s film was a new one for us, and somewhat unexpected after the serious nature of the Ozu films that we have seen. “Ohayo…” (Good morning…) was a beautifully realistic slice of Japanese life, set in and around the breakfast tables of shoulder-to-shoulder suburban family homes. Very funny (fart jokes abound, I’m not kidding!) and telling (the nosy neighbors with nothing better to gossip about), this tail follows the antics of two young brothers up to mischief. It’s a great film, but desperate for some restoration love!

More over at the BiteSizedJapan blog…

PS: Nachos and IPA at the Filmhouse bar = love.

Ozu

Shell — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:15:49 +0000

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.

Sheru! » Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu: Good morning…

Ozu