Okay, so this is a new question from me.

A while ago, some new members stated that "Good Morning" was one of their
favorite Ozu films.
Actually, Criterion's first Ozu DVD release was this one, and at that time I was
like Hmmmmmm?????
It is still a mystery to me why they chose this one over other his famous films.

"Good Morning" is a light-hearted comedy and generally considered a rework of
his silent classic "I was Born But."
However, "Good Morning" is not just a kids' point of view film, but also got the
interesting relationships of Housewives in a small neighborhood community, and
you see an attractive young woman and man who are probably going to have a
romantic relationship later on too.

Over all, it is an enjoyable film for me and interesting to see more colorful
castings.
Yet I do not think I would choose "Good Morning" as one of my top10 Ozu films.

So anyone, can you tell me what's so good about "Good Morning"?

Thanks for the infos!

Actually I wondered if they were legit DVD or not
as I have heard the copyright violation is a very serious issue in China.


--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, Barry Blitstein <bbbandbbb2003@...> wrote:
>
> The Panorama films are the ones to get.  They have the Shochiku imprimatur. 
Don't buy BoYing.  The prints are wretched and the subtitles done by computer
program.  There's a major piracy factor to consider when you encounter a cheap
DVD there.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: bluelovecat <bluelovecat@...>
> To: ozu@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:21:42 AM
> Subject: [ozu] Re: Which Ozu's film do you like to have on DVD next?
>
>  
> Wow, I did not know so many Ozu's DVDs were available from Hong Kong.
> And they are much cheaper than Japanese DVDs, which are usually over-priced.
> No wonder some film makers from there have been deeply influenced by him.
>
> Anyway, I think eventually Criterion will release more Eclipse boxes of Ozu,
probably four of his post-war films together and three or four of his pre-war
talkies together.
>
> To be honest, I like to see more Naruse films on Criterion DVD beofre those
new Ozu boxes. Many of his films are good as Ozu's, yet only one of them are
available in U.S.
> It is not fair!
>
> --- In ozu@yahoogroups. com, "michaelkerpan" <mekerpan@ .> wrote:
> >
> > --- In ozu@yahoogroups. com, "S. Quinn" <smq@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I would buy it! I haven't seen any of the films in the current
> > > discussion. What is the url for "Panarma" -- are DVD's available there?
> >
> > The easiest way for most people to order Panorama's Ozu DVDs is through
YesAsia.com.
> >
> > MEK
> >
>

But it doesn't like the Panorama DVD's are available in Region 1 format --
too bad for me, in the United States.

I'm enjoying the comments on Good Morning!


> Thanks for the infos!
>
> Actually I wondered if they were legit DVD or not
> as I have heard the copyright violation is a very serious issue in China.

--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, smq@... wrote:
>
> But it doesn't like the Panorama DVD's are available in Region 1 format --
> too bad for me, in the United States.

If you love Asian cinema -- you really have to be able to play DVDs from regions
other than Region 1.  Decent all-region DVDs players are now quite inexpensive
-- though you may have to look online to find out the code needed to actually
enable all-region play.  alternately, if you have a PC DVD drive, there is free
(and safe) software that allows one to play almost any DVD.

I didn't buy a DVD player (back in 2002 or so) until I could find one that could
play DVDs from everywhere.

>Maybe no comedy can accomplish that to the same degree.

I say yes and no.
It is true that sometimes Tragedies can convey overwhelming emotions, sensations
and urges to explore our minds.
On the other hand, in American culture, and in Hollywood especially, comedies
can be a great tool to tell the truth that you can not talk about in more
serious forms.
Why do you think "Daily Show" is so popular?

Ozu obviously liked comedies and his "I was born but" showed what a comedy could
do.
I do not call "Tokyo Story" which is generally considered Ozu's best, a Tragedy
but definitely a more serious film compared to some of his other films. Yet I
think films like "Early Summer" and "Equinox Flower" are more Ozu-esque to me,
which do not have strong plots but still have lots of emotions, humors and deep
thoughts on our lives.

One thing I really like about Ozu's films is that I can watch them repeatedly
unlike some other directors' films like Bergman's, which I really admire too.
In a way, I think Fellini's "Amarcord" got a similar quality as Ozu's.

"Good Morning" is a light-hearted comedy, but still got lots of new experiements
like the way to describe relationships of housewives, and a much more intricate
structure than "I was born but" did, even though the former's achivement did not
surpass the beauty of simplicity in the latter.

Again I do not choose "Good Morning" as one of my top10 Ozu films,
but still I enjoy this film and the appearance of Yoshiko Kuga, who said "I
asked Ozu to write a script for me as my part in <Equinox Flower> was much
smaller than Ineko Arima's and Fujiko Yamamoto's. Then I read the one he sent to
me and complained him because it was a kids' movie", worths repeated viewing for
me.



--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, Barry Blitstein <bbbandbbb2003@...> wrote:
>
> I have an odd reaction to Good Morning.  I've seen it three times and each
time I'm enthralled, but I resist seeing it again for years on end.  As to what
number favorite it is, I can't say.  The problem makes me think of Shakespeare's
Comedies, which are, I think, undervalued relative to the Tragedies.  It may
have something to do with the overwhelming power of Ozu's "serious" films and
Shakespeare's Tragedies to take me on a deeply fulfilling journey.  Maybe no
comedy can accomplish that to the same degree.  I will say I find Edward Yang's
Yi Yi, which owes so much to Ozu, and to Good Morning, a truly awesome film
which transcends genre.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: bluelovecat <bluelovecat@...>
> To: ozu@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:11:18 AM
> Subject: [ozu] Why "Good Morning" ?
>
>  
> Okay, so this is a new question from me.
>
> A while ago, some new members stated that "Good Morning" was one of their
favorite Ozu films.
> Actually, Criterion's first Ozu DVD release was this one, and at that time I
was like Hmmmmmm?????
> It is still a mystery to me why they chose this one over other his famous
films.
>
> "Good Morning" is a light-hearted comedy and generally considered a rework of
his silent classic "I was Born But."
> However, "Good Morning" is not just a kids' point of view film, but also got
the interesting relationships of Housewives in a small neighborhood community,
and you see an attractive young woman and man who are probably going to have a
romantic relationship later on too.
>
> Over all, it is an enjoyable film for me and interesting to see more colorful
castings.
> Yet I do not think I would choose "Good Morning" as one of my top10 Ozu films.
>
> So anyone, can you tell me what's so good about "Good Morning"?
>

No, I am not talking about "The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice."
Last night I watched DVD "The Taste of Tea" by Katsuhito Ishii,
which really impressed me.

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NcBL6cYGL4

This film was made in 2003,
yet still got very similar qualities to Ozu's with lots of interesting modern
twists, basically about an ordinary family living in rural area of Japan, going
through daily little things of their lives.
Just like Ozu's, "The Taste of Tea" does not have a strong plot, more like
"slice of life" type film and it is VERY long, nearly two hours long, but it did
not bore me, and it reminded me of some scenes of "Early Summer"and"The End of
Summer", especially the scene of the cremation place.

I am glad to know the film like this still can be made in Japan and find its
audience.
If you are interested, you can watch entire film on YouTube now.
So watch it before it's deleted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21YoeSAUi54

Hirokazu Kore-eda's film Still Walking is getting the kind of appreciative
murmers reserved for Ozu-in fact, Ozu is the spirit guide through this
gendai-geki home drama in the Ozu fashion of generational divide, regret and
disappointment.

Early in the film we view a vista that takes in the sea and the train tracks
running beside it...and sure enough, we see the first of several trains pass as
the film progresses-pillow shots sraight out of Ozu! Once the sentimental music
kicks in, we cannot help but recall the master.

Although the tatami-mat view is not a prominent feature, and, in fact, the
cinematography is not particularly memorable, other Ozu-like elements of the
visual include the indoor shot with garden vista framed by shoji screens-the
shots displaying the detritus of a family's life-the doctor's former office, the
brickabrack of an unused room.

The family has lost a son who saved another boy. On the anniversary of the son's
death, the family gathers. The sister, with her strange, high-pitched voice
peels daikon at her mother's side in the family home as her mother iterates the
many ways of preparing radish. The dad, looking like a Japanese Colonel Sanders
with his Kentucky Fried moustache and hair is introduced-he is patently gruff
with all. Those at home broaden out to include the husband of the daughter and
her two kids.

At a scene shift inside a commuter train we are introduced to the family's
younger brother-the one who survived. Now about 40, he has just married a widow
and his household includes her son. The son is between jobs and he dreads the
visit to his family home.

Nostalgia, regret, longing for the dead, disappointment, smoldering resentment,
shame, and a past transgression play their roles. The family dines on the
fresh-spattering tempura prepared by the mother. The younger daughter tries to
wheedle an invitation out of the mother for her family to move in. At one point
she talks about pulling down a wall between the living spaces and the old
doctor's office. The mother looks impassive, and the daughter and her brood
depart, leaving the "leftover" disappointment-the son who survives but did not
follow in his father's footsteps, his new wife, and her son-who is mourning
privately, his own loss.

At one point the young boy stands in the moonlight and speaks aloud his wish to
be like his father, to follow in his footsteps and be a piano tuner ..."and if
that's not possible...a doctor". He had had an earlier bonding moment with his
new grandpa, and thought that doctor might not be a bad "backup" career.

Through the one afternoon, evening and morning, we learn of the family's
disappointment...the parents have lost their "best" son, and this is their day
of rememberance. The boy their son saved from drowning comes to pay his
respects-as he had been doing some 15 years. The saved boy is a fat mess who
confesses as he leaves, "I'll never amount to anything".

Later, the leftover son talks to his mother, "Be kind, don't ask him back next
year". But the mother is steely...she enjoys making the fat boy suffer. The
fifteen years of remembering the sacrifice of her son are not yet enough, and
she enjoys making the boy feel pain.

As she enjoys playing an old record that she had heard sung from her husband's
lips many years ago from some woman's room. An old family secret brought out to
cause pain.

It is not that the mother is a bad woman-though she can be cruel. She talks,
while arranging a kimono present ot the new wife, "You should have children
soon." But then, considers the son of the deceased husband and says, "But think
about the boy-better not" as she turns her back to find a sash in thedrawer.
Giving hope and dashing it in two sentences. It's a very cruel scene.

The leftover son, his wife and her son, and the mother all climb the long way to
the cemetary where mother pours ladlefuls of water on the grave stone. "This
must feel good on a hot day". As they descend, a yellow butterfly comes into
view along with a folkism. This becomes a central plot point that circles
memory, longing, hope and fear, and continuity in its fragile orbit. To tell
more would be to spoil the film.

In conclusion, Yoshio Harada is clearly too fine an actor for his brief role as
the father (just meaning here that I sensed that I could happily watch him much
more than this role required of him) the leftover son Hiroshi Abe is quite good
in his role, with a nuanced emotional profile, Kirin Kiki as the mom is
brilliant, with a great presence and fascinating face!

Although Ozu is clearly the undisputed master, Still Walking shows Kore-eda as a
true heir.

Thank you so much for posting this link -- it is a great movie, with -- yes --
similarities to Ozu...Ozu as if in the 21st century, or Ozu really pumped or
something with a touch of special effects...In any case, it should be widely
appealing to Ozu fans...Thanks again.

--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, "bluelovecat" <bluelovecat@...> wrote:
>
> No, I am not talking about "The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice."
> Last night I watched DVD "The Taste of Tea" by Katsuhito Ishii,
> which really impressed me.
>
> Trailer
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NcBL6cYGL4
>
> This film was made in 2003,
> yet still got very similar qualities to Ozu's with lots of interesting modern
twists, basically about an ordinary family living in rural area of Japan, going
through daily little things of their lives.
> Just like Ozu's, "The Taste of Tea" does not have a strong plot, more like
"slice of life" type film and it is VERY long, nearly two hours long, but it did
not bore me, and it reminded me of some scenes of "Early Summer"and"The End of
Summer", especially the scene of the cremation place.
>
> I am glad to know the film like this still can be made in Japan and find its
audience.
> If you are interested, you can watch entire film on YouTube now.
> So watch it before it's deleted.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21YoeSAUi54
>

--- On Mon, 12/7/09, demaris4 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>       Thank you so much for posting this link -- it is a
> great movie, with -- yes -- similarities to Ozu...Ozu as if
> in the 21st century, or Ozu really pumped or something with
> a touch of special effects...In any case, it should be
> widely appealing to Ozu fans...Thanks again.
>
Or Ozu on drugs. I found it to be Ozu inside out. That's not to say I didn't
like it. It has its own merits and the only real connection to Ozu being the
film centers around the family. Even so, the family in "Tea" is far from the
cohesive group in Ozu's films. In this film they seem far more independent of
one another. Ozu might have characters drifing from the family in one way or
another. In "Tea" they don't seem as well connected.

It is a nice flick.

William
Essays and Ramblings
http://www.williamahearn.com

yes, i hesitated to say it, but Ozu on drugs (psychedelic) would be about it,

But like Ozu, it centers on the family, and also it tells story of what was
happening with the family without the need for much drama or plot or excitement,
and without violence or shock, which is of primary importance to me -- is a film
interesting -- fresh new or old, does it touch the emotions perhaps in a very
subtle nuanced way, WTIHOUT violating the sensibilities of the viewer (me)...
film is a medium in which the EASIEST THING in the world is to shock, disgust,
frighten etc....imho.

The University of Michigan has a fantastic Monograph Classic Series available
online, and Boardwell's Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema.
  http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cjs/publications/michclassics/index.html

Thought you might like to know.

For anyone out there in Ireland, just to let you know there is an Ozu Festival
in the IFI in Dublin this month:

http://www.irishfilm.ie/cinema/season2_07.asp?SID=188

I've just been to see the new digital print of Tokyo Story - its excellent
quality, especially the sound.

Absolutely wonderful Ozu Festival here in London, with many rarities,
extending from now into February, with the same new prints as our Dublin
correspondent noted.

Here's the details (all on one line):

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/january_season
s/yasujiro_ozu
--
Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK
http://www.zarzuela.net
"ZARZUELA!" The Spanish Music Site

Oh dear, now you've made me jealous - so many of his films on show there I've
never seen!  And the 'Ozu and his Influence' festival is a brilliant idea.



--- On Mon, 4/1/10, Christopher Webber <zarzuela@...> wrote:

> From: Christopher Webber <zarzuela@...>
> Subject: [ozu] NFT London Festival
> To: ozu@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, 4 January, 2010, 10:42
> Absolutely wonderful Ozu Festival
> here in London, with many rarities,
> extending from now into February, with the same new prints
> as our Dublin
> correspondent noted.
>
> Here's the details (all on one line):
>
> http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/january_season
> s/yasujiro_ozu
> --
> Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK
> http://www.zarzuela.net
> "ZARZUELA!" The Spanish Music Site
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     ozu-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

A tremendous evening in NFT2 last night, to warm up the coldest, iciest
weather London has had for 30 years: a double-bill of "I Flunked,
but..." (1930) and "A Straightforward Boy".

The latter is an entertaining 1929 short, featuring the wondrous Tomio
Aoki as a little horror who proves his would-be kidnappers' (Tatsuo
Saito and Takeshi Sakamoto) worst nightmare.

The former was a revelation - a college comedy nearly as funny as "I was
Born, but...." and majoring on withering social satire rather than human
growing pains. Saito (the father in the latter film) is the flunking
student, and there's another very funny cameo from tiny Tomio Aoki. A
scene where it seems that Saito is about to commit seppuku, but turns
out to be cutting his toe nails, had the (weather considered) very
respectable 70+ size audience in gales of laughter.

Made 80 years ago, but it certainly wears its years lightly. The prints
were Shochiku 1993 subtitled remasters.

**The good news is that BFI are going to issue 32 (thirty-two!!) Ozu
films on DVD beginning in mid-April, so the impossibly rare ones such as
these two will eventually be included.**
--
Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK
http://www.zarzuela.net
"ZARZUELA!" The Spanish Music Site

I know its a bit off topic to ask about a Koreeda film here, but as he seems to
be considered a bit of an heir to Ozu, some of you might know the answer to
this:

I went with a friend last night to see 'Still Walking' for the second time - a
wonderful film, ever bit as good as the classic domestic drama's of the 1950's,
even if I think the Ozu parallels are a bit overdone (maybe a topic for another
discussion).  But one thing my friend and I were puzzling over was in the near
to final scenes (I won't say too much in case this acts as spoiler to those who
haven't seen it yet).

The elderly grandmother insists on shaking the hands of her son, his wife and
his stepson as they get on the bus to leave for home.  The son is clearly
embarrassed by this.  Later, as she walks back with her husband, he chastises
her for this and says 'they might get the wrong idea'.  She replies by more or
less saying 'thats why I did it'.

What did she mean by this?  The only explanation I can think of is that shaking
hands emphasises their role as 'guests' rather than 'family'?

The mom has issues. Yes to "guests".

And, I don't think the Ozu references are overdone, I think the emphasis is
different-less monon-no-aware, more cyclical nature of being. (The THING you
didn't want to give away...)

What do you mean by "I think the emphasis is different-less monon-no-aware, more
cyclical nature of being. (The THING you didn't want to give away...)

For me, this film is one of the most Ozu-like that I've seen ...

One non-technical difference that is interesting to me is how important the
kitchen and the food  (and the preparation, centering on the Grandmother) is in
STILL WALKING.  You never see the kitchen in the Ozu films, and there is very
little notice of eating or food, especially compared to the drinking...

thanks for the news, though it is yet another Ozu festival far far away

--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, Phil Davis <padavis_99@...> wrote:
>
> For anyone out there in Ireland, just to let you know there is an Ozu Festival
in the IFI in Dublin this month:
>
> http://www.irishfilm.ie/cinema/season2_07.asp?SID=188
>
> I've just been to see the new digital print of Tokyo Story - its excellent
quality, especially the sound.
>

There is at least one very major kitchen scene in Ozu -- the next to the last
scene in Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (also one of the "sexiest" scenes in all
of Ozu's work).

--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, demaris4 <no_reply@...> wrote:

> One non-technical difference that is interesting to me is how important the
kitchen and the food  (and the preparation, centering on the Grandmother) is in
STILL WALKING.  You never see the kitchen in the Ozu films, and there is very
little notice of eating or food, especially compared to the drinking...
>

I find Kore-eda to be  a fine heir to Ozu's mantle. His emphasis on the family,
interpersonal dynamics, and the quietness of his films remind us of Ozu. He is a
careful, thoughtful craftsman, and there are even pillow shots and trains
tootling by in the distance. All we need is some laundry in the breeze and we'd
be set! Not a lot of tatami shots, but very Ozu-like in some ways.

But, there are differences. While Ozu's mature ouvre is largely concerned with
the dissolution of the family, Kore-eda's is more about the cyclical nature of
the family...how we become our parents, or adopt their ways/beliefs, attitudes.
I do not wish to give away the device that is used to underscore this plot
point-the THING that stirs the sense of the cyclical-it may be a little
intrusive, and you may think the film is better without it. Still it is the
major difference between Ozu and Kore-eda.

I am very happy to have this kind of film on the big screen. Some of my friends
disagree-they say this kind of film is better suited to the small screen.

If you live in America, this is unsupportable. A quiet film is blasted out of
the water by commercials-interrupted, slashed to bits-destroyed...

I hope that I have been able to clarify my statements about the film "Still
Walking" without telling too much and destroying the pleasure of viewing for
those who have not yet had the opportunity to see it.

thanks for the fuller explanation and now I may have to watch Still Walking
again to notice the sense of the cyclical..not to seem completely obtuse, but
did the butterfly have that significance...?

these posts could have the title "focus on the family" - ha ha... I recently saw
the French film, a Christmas Tale, which I would recommend to you all. I love
the detail, for example, of the long-suffering father/grandfather listening to
his jazz recording with such intensity and appreciation... how did he contribute
to the weird family dynamics... in this movie, too, though it is the great feast
of christmas, the only person who actually eats, gains nourishment within the
family, is an outsider, the date of the bad brother...

--- In ozu@yahoogroups.com, "yippeiokiyay" <yippeiokiyay@...> wrote:
>
> I find Kore-eda to be  a fine heir to Ozu's mantle. His emphasis on the
family, interpersonal dynamics, and the quietness of his films remind us of Ozu.
He is a careful, thoughtful craftsman, and there are even pillow shots and
trains tootling by in the distance. All we need is some laundry in the breeze
and we'd be set! Not a lot of tatami shots, but very Ozu-like in some ways.
>
> But, there are differences. While Ozu's mature ouvre is largely concerned with
the dissolution of the family, Kore-eda's is more about the cyclical nature of
the family...how we become our parents, or adopt their ways/beliefs, attitudes.
I do not wish to give away the device that is used to underscore this plot
point-the THING that stirs the sense of the cyclical-it may be a little
intrusive, and you may think the film is better without it. Still it is the
major difference between Ozu and Kore-eda.
>
> I am very happy to have this kind of film on the big screen. Some of my
friends disagree-they say this kind of film is better suited to the small
screen.
>
> If you live in America, this is unsupportable. A quiet film is blasted out of
the water by commercials-interrupted, slashed to bits-destroyed...
>
> I hope that I have been able to clarify my statements about the film "Still
Walking" without telling too much and destroying the pleasure of viewing for
those who have not yet had the opportunity to see it.
>

Interesting discussion, I must admit the notion that kitchens didn't figure much
in Ozu hadn't occurred to me!  I think its maybe true to say that for most
Japanese of the period, the kitchen was just a alcove with a stove - its only
more recently that the kitchen became a 'room' that people might socialise in. 
Perhaps our Japanese linguists will confirm, but I believe that in Japan the
English word 'Kitchen' is used to distinguish a traditional cooking room from a
more modern type of kitchen?  I think I read that in relation to Banana
Yoshimoto's book from the 1980's 'Kitchen'.  One film from the period that does
feature a tiny kitchen is Naruse's 'Repast'.  In that film, Setsuko Hara can
barely fit into it as she prepares meals for her ungrateful husband.  In 'Green
Tea' I think Ozu was using the fact that the couple were upper-middle class, and
so very unusual in that they would have had a kitchen with servants - if I
recall (its been a while since I
  watched it), the couple were quite unfamiliar with their own kitchen as it was
considered the servants domain.  It therefore became the neutral space for their
reconciliation.

As for Koreeda, to clarify my comments about him in relation to Ozu, I think the
reasons he has been declared 'the new Ozu' is more lazy journalistic shorthand
than reality.  I don't actually think there is much of a thematic or cinematic
link between them.

At first, I thought the scene with a train in the distance was a deliberate nod
to Ozu, but on second thoughts I don't think so.  The use of trains as a linking
device was quite common among Japanese film makers (even Kurosawa occasionally
used it) and in Still Walking the train scene seems more to create continuity to
the next scene (set inside a train) than the way Ozu used it as signifying time
moving on.

In terms of cinema style, I'm not really cinema literate enough to comment, but
it seemed to me that his style of shooting within the cinema owned more to
French cinema than Ozu.  His camera roved through the house, often showing
overlapping activities.  The scene, for example, where the family talk over
dinner while the children outside struggle to break open the watermelon was
quite brilliantly done, but seemed to me to be quite French in style.  Also, he
used the camera to wander the house creating more of a sense of enclosure.  The
only 'Ozu' like technique I noted was his focusing on household objects,
especially in the bathroom - and even here it was more of a narrative device
(showing the infirmity of his father) more than the visual metaphor used by Ozu.
In this sense, I think Koreeda has more in common with Naruse than Ozu - Naruse
being a director who seemed to me to be more concerned with using whatever was
at his disposal to make his film,
  rather than focusing on a particular personal 'style'.

Thematically, (and I'm writing as much as I can without doing a spoiler), I
agree with Yippie that Koreedas view of family is entirely different from Ozu. 
While Ozu focused on 'the moment' and reflected on the passing of time, of
traditional ways, the final scene in Still Walking (which I have to say I think
was unnecessary and a little clunky) to me showed that Koreeda wanted to
emphasise the way families continue their cycles of behaviour - children being
influenced by their parents even when they resist it, all generations
essentially going through the same patterns repeatedly.  More Philip Larkin than
Ozu!  (google 'Philip Larkin and This be the Verse' if you want to know what i
mean).

So while I would strongly recomment Still Walking to anyone who hasn't seen it -
if you like Ozu you will love it - I think it is a disservice to overemphasise
Ozu when talking about the film.  Koreeda is very much an artist in his own
right in a Japanese tradition of domestic drama.

Philip









--- On Sun, 24/1/10, demaris4 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

> From: demaris4 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [ozu] Re: Ozu, Kore-eda, Kitchens and Family
> To: ozu@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, 24 January, 2010, 16:33
> thanks for the fuller explanation and
> now I may have to watch Still Walking again to notice the
> sense of the cyclical..not to seem completely obtuse, but
> did the butterfly have that significance...?
>
> these posts could have the title "focus on the family" - ha
> ha... I recently saw the French film, a Christmas Tale,
> which I would recommend to you all. I love the detail, for
> example, of the long-suffering father/grandfather listening
> to his jazz recording with such intensity and
> appreciation... how did he contribute to the weird family
> dynamics... in this movie, too, though it is the great feast
> of christmas, the only person who actually eats, gains
> nourishment within the family, is an outsider, the date of
> the bad brother...
>
> --- In ozu@yahoogroups.com,
> "yippeiokiyay" <yippeiokiyay@...> wrote:
> >
> > I find Kore-eda to be  a fine heir to Ozu's
> mantle. His emphasis on the family, interpersonal dynamics,
> and the quietness of his films remind us of Ozu. He is a
> careful, thoughtful craftsman, and there are even pillow
> shots and trains tootling by in the distance. All we need is
> some laundry in the breeze and we'd be set! Not a lot of
> tatami shots, but very Ozu-like in some ways.
> >
> > But, there are differences. While Ozu's mature ouvre
> is largely concerned with the dissolution of the family,
> Kore-eda's is more about the cyclical nature of the
> family...how we become our parents, or adopt their
> ways/beliefs, attitudes. I do not wish to give away the
> device that is used to underscore this plot point-the THING
> that stirs the sense of the cyclical-it may be a little
> intrusive, and you may think the film is better without it.
> Still it is the major difference between Ozu and Kore-eda.
> >
> > I am very happy to have this kind of film on the big
> screen. Some of my friends disagree-they say this kind of
> film is better suited to the small screen.
> >
> > If you live in America, this is unsupportable. A quiet
> film is blasted out of the water by commercials-interrupted,
> slashed to bits-destroyed...
> >
> > I hope that I have been able to clarify my statements
> about the film "Still Walking" without telling too much and
> destroying the pleasure of viewing for those who have not
> yet had the opportunity to see it.
> >
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     ozu-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

You said it, Phil! He's his own guy!

Not meaning to over-explicate the finenness of either Ozu or Kore-eda, but just
to say that in both  directors' work, the sense of time passing is poignant, and
a plot point.

For Kore-eda, the bitterness of the father who now, no longer fixes tiles in the
bath...no longer is interested in much except his meals and past
practice/prestige (his medicines lining the shelves-still deadly if used
incorrectly, though of not much practical use in general daily life, since the
new clinic moved in, since he effectively is not even recognized as a doctor
when the ambulance comes) whose health and interest in life is declining, the
sense of loss is powerful. This is a father losing his authority, and in losing
his one son has lost his future, his immortality, his chance to leave a legacy.
His one grown son doesn't want medicine...only the lost son wanted that for a
career-look at grandfather trying so hard to get the "new" step-grandson to
choose medicine! I truly love the confession to the moon when, if piano-tuner
cannot be a career achieved, the young grandson will do with medicine! It is a
beautiful and funny moment that helps warm one up to the film, in much the same
way Ozu could use humor to both lighten and illuminate.

So, yes, maybe Kore-eda's work is not about the nuclear family
dissolving...(Kore-eda is more about the younger generation's destiny- despite a
valiant fight it ends up being the older generation!) although, in some ways the
older generation giving way to the younger-is exactly the source of so much pain
in Ozu's ouvre-and, that is shared here in Still Walking!

Here, quiet pain is endured by the young "left-over" son and his father,
equally. Disappointment and bitterness are everywhere. And, surely time passing
is definitely a "character" in the film! In fact, in one short day and a half
with a post-script at the end we live through decades of disappointment and
sadness in a family! We learn so much about each's attitude toward the other.

I think that those who admire what Kore-eda has achieved in Still Walking see,
in his emphasis on small interchanges that illuminate interpersonal
relationships and emotions- an echo of Ozu's greatness. It is not to say they
are the same, nor that their intentions are even the same. Yet, there is, in the
depiction of the seemingly trivial that tells volumes, something very Ozu-like
in Kore-eda's film.

And, to choose exactly those genius moments requires a sensitivity and honesty
and an eye!

Finally, a reflection on the title Still Walking suggests several things, at
least: that the elderly parents (especially the ambulatory Dr. Grandpa) are
still walking this earth, that the "leftover" son who did not die is still
walking this earth, that the young man saved from drowning is still walking,
that the grandchildren and the newest step-grandchild, despite video games and
television are still walking this earth-in fact perhaps the ghost of the dead
son is still walking the earth...and, in the concluding scenes, attitudes and
neologisms from an earlier age are still walking this earth-our family culture
continues. In that way, perhaps some of the film's meaning is also about
persistence-of memory, of habit, of life itself, and of the family.

Terrific stuff Yippie, I can't disagree at all.

This may not be news to those here who are fluent in Japanese, but I was talking
today to a Japanese friend who went to see the Still Walking this week.  She
thought the subtitles were quite poor - she said the film is much funnier in
Japanese (she said she was embarrassed at laughing sometimes when nobody else in
the cinema was!), especially the grandmother.  She felt that the grandmothers
witty and cutting little remarks were not quite reflected in the subtitles.


--- On Mon, 25/1/10, yippeiokiyay <yippeiokiyay@...> wrote:

> From: yippeiokiyay <yippeiokiyay@...>
> Subject: [ozu] Koreeda is very much an artist in his own rite
> To: ozu@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, 25 January, 2010, 17:48
> You said it, Phil! He's his own guy!
>
> Not meaning to over-explicate the finenness of either Ozu
> or Kore-eda, but just to say that in both  directors'
> work, the sense of time passing is poignant, and a plot
> point.
>
> For Kore-eda, the bitterness of the father who now, no
> longer fixes tiles in the bath...no longer is interested in
> much except his meals and past practice/prestige (his
> medicines lining the shelves-still deadly if used
> incorrectly, though of not much practical use in general
> daily life, since the new clinic moved in, since he
> effectively is not even recognized as a doctor when the
> ambulance comes) whose health and interest in life is
> declining, the sense of loss is powerful. This is a father
> losing his authority, and in losing his one son has lost his
> future, his immortality, his chance to leave a legacy. His
> one grown son doesn't want medicine...only the lost son
> wanted that for a career-look at grandfather trying so hard
> to get the "new" step-grandson to choose medicine! I truly
> love the confession to the moon when, if piano-tuner cannot
> be a career achieved, the young grandson will do with
> medicine! It is a beautiful and funny moment that helps warm
> one up to the film, in much the same way Ozu could use humor
> to both lighten and illuminate.
>
> So, yes, maybe Kore-eda's work is not about the nuclear
> family dissolving...(Kore-eda is more about the younger
> generation's destiny- despite a valiant fight it ends up
> being the older generation!) although, in some ways the
> older generation giving way to the younger-is exactly the
> source of so much pain in Ozu's ouvre-and, that is shared
> here in Still Walking!
>
> Here, quiet pain is endured by the young "left-over" son
> and his father, equally. Disappointment and bitterness are
> everywhere. And, surely time passing is definitely a
> "character" in the film! In fact, in one short day and a
> half with a post-script at the end we live through decades
> of disappointment and sadness in a family! We learn so much
> about each's attitude toward the other.
>
> I think that those who admire what Kore-eda has achieved in
> Still Walking see, in his emphasis on small interchanges
> that illuminate interpersonal relationships and emotions- an
> echo of Ozu's greatness. It is not to say they are the same,
> nor that their intentions are even the same. Yet, there is,
> in the depiction of the seemingly trivial that tells
> volumes, something very Ozu-like in Kore-eda's film.
>
> And, to choose exactly those genius moments requires a
> sensitivity and honesty and an eye!
>
> Finally, a reflection on the title Still Walking suggests
> several things, at least: that the elderly parents
> (especially the ambulatory Dr. Grandpa) are still walking
> this earth, that the "leftover" son who did not die is still
> walking this earth, that the young man saved from drowning
> is still walking, that the grandchildren and the newest
> step-grandchild, despite video games and television are
> still walking this earth-in fact perhaps the ghost of the
> dead son is still walking the earth...and, in the concluding
> scenes, attitudes and neologisms from an earlier age are
> still walking this earth-our family culture continues. In
> that way, perhaps some of the film's meaning is also about
> persistence-of memory, of habit, of life itself, and of the
> family.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     ozu-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

Phil, your Japanese friend is probably right in guessing that we non-speakers
are missing something in Still Walking.

One senses that the grandmother is a complicated, funny and savvy person-someone
who sees quite a bit. But, I took the grandmother's little nips as a sign of a
somewhat cruel streak.

That may be quite off-base, in light of your evaluation of the subtitles!