See The Films Of Legendary Director Yasujiro Ozu
November 2019
The films of legendary director Yasujiro Ozu / 小津 安二郎 are finding new audiences across the United States and around the world. Cinephiles know Ozu's work well - especially his post-World War II dramas, like Tokyo Story and Early Spring - but wider audiences are now learning about his compelling and influential films via screenings in Seattle, Atlanta, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Bellingham, NYC, Reykjavik and other cities.
Ozu directed crime films, film noirs, comedies and social critiques, but his minimalist domestic dramas achieved particular renown for their poignant serenity. Ozu worked on an intimately human scale; his scripts, cowritten by Kôgo Noda, addressed intergenerational conflict (often between a parent and an unmarried daughter) as well as the tensions between freedom, romance and loyalty.
Hallmarks of his distinctive visual style include lengthy takes from a stationary camera, the practice of filming his characters from a low angle (the "tatami shot"), meditative still-life shots in between scenes, and having characters speak directly at the camera. He also favored elliptical narratives and often avoided traditional continuity editing.
A scene from Yasujiro Ozu’s 1949 film Late Spring.
His cinematic storytelling fell within the Gendai-geki genre, which found inspiration and subject matter in contemporary Japanese life (in contrast to the epic Jidai-geki period films of his contemporary, Akira Kurosawa). Among the Western directors Ozu influenced are Wim Wenders, Wes Anderson, Claire Denis and Paul Schrader.
The majority of Ozu's 35 surviving films are very difficult to find, so public screenings of his works tend to generate significant interest among film enthusiasts. Learn about recent and upcoming Ozu screenings in Seattle, Atlanta, Bellingham, Reykjavik, Barcelona, Los Angeles and NYC; and learn more about his work via Vogue Magazine (bit.ly/VogueOzu), the Toronto International Film Festival (bit.ly/TIFFOzu), and the New York Times (bit.ly/NYTOzu1).