Message from seun

[Anonymous]

Film: Early Summer, "Bakushu", (1951, black and white)
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Setsuko Hara (as Noriko Mamiya) and Chishu Ryu (as Koichi Mamiya)
Setting: Kamakura, Japan

Early summer is a story of an extended family, the Mamiya's, living under one roof and their different tribulations in dealing with generational, personality, and group/verses individuality conflicts. Ozu is famous for making films about ordinary family life; he is versed in peeling the layers of his subjects to reveal the true internal motivations that is universal to film viewers. Unlike Kurosawa's themes of rapid movement, grandeur, heroism and extroversion, Ozu's film permeates exactly the opposite--quiet, reflective, introspective and nostalgic. Interestingly like Kurosawa, Ozu retains the same actors/actresses for most of his films.

What's interesting about Ozu's movie is that the vantage point from the camera does not have much movement. Ozu was famous for setting his camera angle at a low position, as if one is looking at the charters from sitting. Most of the shots are full-frontal, rather than manipulated angles to illicit emotion from the audience.

The Mamiya family lives under one roof, where politics emerge as each generation grapples with their place in the family's infrastructure. The conflict of traditional vs. modern becomes apparent as each character tries their best to merge one with the other--there are other issues as well: Working women, group vs. individualism, modernization, and country vs. city. It is a story of one's ability to compromise and resigning oneself to the notion that the only constancy in life is change.

I recommend using this film as a comparative study of family life or exploration of any of the issues mentioned above. It's a must see.