Late Spring - 1949 - Dir. Ozu

It's a pretty run of the mill Ozu film. Like with many of his other films, I always get the impression that I've seen it before. They're always very satisfying to watch, calming almost, so I don't think I really mind familiar feelings. I guess, it's tricky because the topics of his films often overlap. Late Spring is about a daughter who is perfectly happy caring for her widowed father and planning on becoming an Old Maid in a sense. Her Father, wants her to get hitched, even though it'll leave him on his own. It features my two favorite Ozu actors, Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu. It felt like it leaned more towards the serious spectrum of his films. That's not to say he goes around making comedies or anything but they can be light-hearted sometimes. This one, not so much. Anyway, I'm always impressed as to how he can make the simplest stories so watchable... and enjoyable. I rarely find myself impatiently looking at the running time. I feel like he set his pace very clearly, very deliberately. So there's little confusion as to the speed in which the movie will go. It's a good film. Solid Ozu. There's certainly better ones out there but if you have a thirst for Ozu, this will certainly quench it... that or Gatorade (The joke is that Gatorade will make you feel like you just watched mid-twentieth century Japanese cinema).

Setsuko Hara friggin LOVES making that expression.

An Autumn Afternoon - 1962 - Dir. Ozu

Ahhhhh... Ozu. Flowing like a clear stream of... uh... Japanese family dramas. It really is like he's making the same movie again and again. Granted, I'm watching all of the movies of the same period. But I don't want that to register as a complaint. This one features an aging widower trying to marry off his daughter before she gets too old. Basically like a different version of Late Autumn. The film actually has a strange focus on alcohol, I've never seen before in an Ozu film, which I always considered a little strange considering the amount of booze the man was known for drinking. Most scenes involve drinking and there's a surprising amount of drunkenness for an Ozu film. It's kind of like an elderly Swingers for 1960's Japan :p Although I've apparently seen the End of Summer before, I would like to watch it in this context of the rest of his color films considering so many of them revolve around marriage and relationships between generations. I feel like this one tried least to be coy and charming. That's not to say it is a strict drama, but I feel like the film was very focused and even in goofy drinking scenes, there is a kind of reality and sadness undercutting it all.

Her smile is trying to keep up with her mouth!

Late Autumn - 1960 - Dir. Ozu

I like Ozu. I'm not crazy about him by any means. But his films are just TERRIBLY satisfying for me to watch. And I really must admit that I get a real kick out of the way he films his movies. I like the amount of eye contact the characters make with the camera. I've decided to make an attempt to watch the shit out of his films. I have to admit that in a sense they do blend together a bit, so I often struggle to tell which is which. I can't really blame myself though. He shoots so similarly and uses the same actors and the same themes. But that also means, there's nothing MORE satisfying than an Ozu film when the mood is right. ANYWAY, Late Autumn is a terribly charming film. I mean, middle-aged Japanese people setting each other up. What's cuter than that? Setsuko Hara is at her usual best. She is so good at NOT conveying what she's feeling, which I feel goes such a long way in an Ozu film. You spend a lot of time trying to read her. Unlike the three Old Friends who we spend a lot of time who just are as gossipy as a knitting circle. Naturally, I feel with Ozu movies being the most JAPANESE of the auteurs, it can be a bit of a culture gap. But I assume businessmen don't spend their time setting people up. OH MAN! And The Best Friend who Hiccups. I got down with her like NOBODIES business. :)

This man is just the sweetest!