Passing Fancy

Yasujiro Ozu's Passing Fancy (1933) is a slight inferior film from the director's silent era. Takeshi Sakamoto plays an unresponsible widowed father whose attempts at courting a younger lady lead to no good.

The film does play around with the themes Ozu often explored and there are a few interesting aspects in store for Ozu fans because he modelled the main character after his father and few other men he knew as a kid. There are times when the narrative simply implodes under the pressure caused by the imbalance of comedy and drama. Luckily that doesn't destroy the screenplay completely since it happens only on a few occasions that are surrounded by all around pleasant writing.

Ozu's form is a bit careless with random camera movement and stiff editing. However, he manages to get brilliant performances from the actors and especially the lead character's child is surprisingly natural in his role.

Even if Passing Fancy has its significant flaws, it is flawed in an interesting way for the fans of the director.

Score: 7 out of 10

Tokyo Twilight

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Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) is probably the darkest film the director ever made. The familiar explorations of marriage and family are shadowed by grave misfortune. The focus is on two sisters who try to deal with children and marriage without a mother who left them when they were still kids.

Being an Ozu film, I had high expectations for Tokyo Twilight and even then I was a bit surprised because the film nearly reaches the complexity and emotional impact of the so-called Noriko trilogy. With a strong cast of characters (and actors) and a thought-provoking approach Ozu manages to create yet another unforgettable story.

Tokyo Twilight is not an exception to the formal aesthetic of Ozu's sound films and it isn't exactly stand out in his filmography, which means it is quite stunning on its own. The soundtrack is surprisingly a bit more emotional in comparison to the director's other films, but the difference isn't that significant in the end.

Ozu's incredible streak of great movies seems to have no end. Tokyo Twilight is often forgotten because the focus is on his other masterpieces like Late Spring (1949), but it is extremely fascinating and sublime as well.

Score: 10 out of 10

Three Times

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I'm a fan of director Hsiao-hsien Hou, but even then I wasn't that fascinated by Three Times (2005). The film is split into three segments that take place in three different periods of time (1910's, 1960's and 2000's) where Shu Qi and Chen Chang appear in the central relationship. As you might guess from that, Three Times' major theme is love.

The first segment is a schmaltzy tale of a soldier chasing an adventurous woman in the 60's. Why do I call it schmaltzy? There is an abundance of pop music of the period that is so mind-numbing in the end that the music loses most of its impact. Even Aprhodite's Child's "Rain and Tears" had a surprisingly tame impact due to the frequent usage.

The second segment is an oddly pretentious effort for Hou. Most of the segment tries to imitate silent films by muting dialogue and sound effects yet changes nothing else so it's a Hou film without sound apart from a constant flow of music. I guess he decided to approach the segment that way since it takes place in the early 20th century. However it's not only distracting, but nearly terrible because Hou still relies on dialogue as much as he usually does so that means there are a lot of title cards that becomes rather tiresome after a while. It also has a very calm, dreamlike pace for no good reason.

The final segment is Hou's take on love in the modern age and I have to say it is clearly the most successful and interesting one. It is the most complex and interesting one and there are no formal deficiencies in the way either.

Apart from the oddities specific to each segment, the form is rather fluid. Hou's incredible photography and sparse editing are still as beautiful as they have always been. The musical choices are good even if occasionally misused. The greatest occasion must be the closing song for the final segment: it is so well as a continuation of the heart-aching ending. And if there's anything to be truly praised in this film it's Shu Qi's amazing acting. The innocent joy of the first segment, the elegance of the second segment and the fragile tour de force of the final segment are all top notch performances. I hope she will eventually be acknowledged as one of the greatest contemporary actresses.

Even though Hou doesn't have that much to say about love he approaches it from so many different perspectives that the film is at least satisfying. I wonder what would have happened to the film without Shu Qi.

Score: 6 out of 10

Early Spring

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Yasujiro Ozu's Early Spring (1956) is a departure from the director's work thematically: even though the focus is on family and marriage the story is about a salary man who begins cheating on his wife after becoming dissatisfied with his life and work. There is a lack of authority and it is replaced by other social concerns. Ozu's musings on work are enigmatic since nearly every scene is related to work, but nothing comes out of it at least on surface.

Ozu's form has clearly become static by now as there is only one moving shot (that is used in a tad confusing way to be honest). The pillow shots are mostly of interior locations as opposed to the vast amount of scenery shots used in the director's other films like Tokyo Story (1953).

Early Spring might be a lesser masterpiece from Ozu, but that's not surprising because he made it right after one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, Tokyo Story. However it's a refreshing film (even if way too long at two and half hours) from Ozu's filmography so I would gladly recommend it.

Score: 8 out of 10

Early Summer

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Yasujiro Ozu's Early Summer (1951) is yet another observation of family and marriage in post-war Japan for the director. A surprisingly large cast of characters is introduced in the first third of the film before the major conflict is even ignited. Not the only characters are rich, but the writing in general is deeply (but subtly) touching in the unique way Ozu always managed to embed into his films.

From Ozu one can always expect formal brilliance and Early Summer is not an exception. Scenes are shot from a fixed low positions in the traditional Ozu way, but there are surprisingly many moving shots this time. Some of them work well, but there are a few that feel more like formal deficiencies. Luckily they are few and the other parts of the film easily overshadow the moments the form stumbles. It's also miraculous how Ozu's musical scores are always so timeless whereas other Japanese films from the same period of time offer soundtracks that in hindsight seem so "obviously 50's" (not to say they are bad, but when you give enough thought for it, that's how it seems).

Ozu's deeply moving and life-affirming films are one of the biggest reasons why I'm so fascinated by cinema. The repressed emotions and subtlety of his writing and his utterly unique aesthetic provide unforgettable cinematic experiences that make me speechless. I hope I can one day express that delight in words because right now I'm not exactly satisfied with what I've written. Nevertheless I urge everyone to go and see the director's films because they are a lot more rewarding than what modern cinema can offer.

Score: 10 out of 10

Sound of the Mountain

In Mikio Naruse's Sound of the Mountain (1954) Setsuko Hara plays a housewife whose husband cheats on her. She faces an insurmountable decision as she has to figure out whether she should divorce him or not. Her close relationship with the father-in-law (who in turn neglects her own daughter) complicates the matter.

Essentially Sound of the Mountain is Naruse's exploration of family and marriage. It might be something he often observes in his films, but he always manages to bring a new aspect or approach to it - and this is not an exception. He handles the intimate "chamber drama" well in order to bring forth interesting details of the characters - which not only deepen the themes, but also make the film a lot more compelling to watch.

Naruse's form is pretty much the same as it is in his other films. His formal choices are barely noticable, but they are surprisingly powerful. In general it works well, but it is not mindblowing. In Naruse's film the soundtrack is often a bit of a nuiscance, but it isn't that bad this time.

Sound of the Mountain is a fine achievement for a director who is slowly becoming one of my all time favorites.

Score: 9 out of 10

Repast

Mikio Naruse's Repast (1951) focuses on the struggles of a Japanese housewife as she tries to attain inner peace in a troubled marriage. Naruse continues to explore women who aim for happiness despite the restrictions set by the harsh reality - and succeeds very well by hiding surprising complexity in simple scenes and developing fascinating characters subtly.

Naruse's brilliant white and black photography and sneaky editing are effective in a partly minimalistic way because they don't draw a lot of attention to themselves: the camera moves calmly and the editing patterns are rather conventional. The most impressive aspect in Repast is the acting: Ken Uehara and Setsuko Hara are magnificent. Especially the latter is (as expected) impeccable as the conflicted and emotionally unstable housewife that carries the entire film. However, the film is not without a flaw: the soundtrack is a bit over the top although it mostly works sufficiently, but it does stand out quite a lot in the "restrained" form.

Mikio Naruse has proven to be an interesting director like his reputation suggested before I was introduced to his film properly. There's something life-affirming yet "realistic" about his films that make them intriguing and poetic. Repast is one of his finest achievements judging from the few films I've seen so far.

Score: 9 out of 10

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Even though I'm a big fan of Japanese cinema I hadn't seen a film by Mikio Naruse before I watched When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960). His name is often mentioned alongside the Big Three (Kurosawa, Mizoguchi & Ozu) and the Japanese New Wave directors (Oshima, Imamura etc) as the most important (and best) Japanese directors of all time. At least judging by this film I wholeheartedly agree.

Essentially When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is about a Japanese bar hostess (set in post-WW2 Japan) at a significant point in her life: because she's already 30, she has to either open her own bar or get married. The screenplay offers a thorough depiction of the age, a stunning character study AND in a subtle way it also explores the weak position of women in the Japanese society. Naruse doesn't point fingers as obviously as Mizoguchi - and even manages to find some delight for the main character within her restricted choices. Even though the main character is fascinating and complex enough on her own the huge cast of side characters is also given a lot of attention - and they are not disappointing characters either. The screenplay's epic scope leaves me rather speechless.

The form is not subtle in the minimalistic Ozu way. Instead Naruse employs effective yet nearly unnoticable editing patterns that keep the focus on the essential. Mostly medium distance shots are used to keep a pleasant sense of intimacy, but when an "empty" (= a lot of empty space in the shot) long distance shot is used, it is used to great effect that is almost cathartic. The compositions are also rather interesting. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is certainly a film I'd like to study closer at some point - even if only for its visual aspects. The restrained jazz music of the soundtrack is also used in an excellent way.

Japanese cinema delivers yet another big surprise for me. Even though I was aware of Naruse's reputation among film buffs I didn't realize I would experience something as vivid as this film. It has certainly found a place among my favorite films of all time.

Score: 10 out of 10

Flowers of Shanghai

Hsiao-hsien Hou's Flowers of Shanghai (1998) is set in the 1880's Shanghai where four brothels have to deal with a wide range of problems from fights between flower girls (a gentler term for prostitutes) to the struggle to gain freedom. Hou explores the subject thoroughly and he manages to create a big cast of complex and fascinating characters.

The film is a return to Hou's more static form in a sense: the camera remains at the same spot in each scene, but it still turns around to follow characters and events when it is needed. The camera is also relatively (= in comparison to his other films) close to the actors, creating more intimacy although the camera still remains as an observer. The editing pattern is mostly one "one scene, one take" and scenes are often changed with a fade to black - which works surprisingly well because it fits to the calm pacing completely. The lighting in this film phenomenal, even more notable than in many other Hou films.

Flowers of Shanghai is a great addition to Hou's filmography even though it does not reach to the level of his masterpieces.

Score: 9 out of 10

Late Spring

Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring (1949) is the first part of an unofficial "Noriko trilogy" (3 Ozu films which have a character called Noriko performed by wonderful Setsuko Hara) of which I have seen only the last part before (Tokyo Story, one of my favorite films of all time). It tells about a woman and his relationship to his old father as he tries to get her married before it's too late.

Ozu's observations on family and changing values are still hard-hitting - even 60 years after the film was released. As differing values clash (regarding remarriage, arranged marriages and independence), something so utterly sad yet profound emerges.

Ozu employs his minimalism in a very successful way yet again. The restrained emotion of the story (up until a certain point, as usual) and the lovable characters make the film an unforgettable experience. Ozu's regulars, Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu, perform wonderfully yet again.

Even though Ozu is known for his minimal form and static camerawork, Late Spring features a few scenes in which the camera moves quite a lot. It proves that Ozu knows exactly how to use the camera in different scenes. His precise framing and impeccable editing make me jealous (in a good way, though).

Yasujiro Ozu delivers yet another masterpiece with Late Spring - a film which won't leave my mind at peace during the following weeks.

Score: 10 out of 10