Japanese Cinema, Ozu Style

November 16, 10:47 AMLA Foreign Movie ExaminerLydia Ianni

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An Autumn Afternoon

Coming off the heels of a month of Japanese ghost stories in October, the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax will be bringing L.A. a series of films by Japanese cinematic master Yasujiro Ozu. During November, every Friday at 7:30 the theater will present a double feature of films by Ozu, a director who has become an indispensible figure in Japanese film.

Ozu's work has taken a prominent place in Japanese, and indeed World Cinema, because of a unique and deliberate style. His shots of buildings, landscapes, factories, and alleys used as bookends to scenes have drawn an extreme amount of attention. Many critics have attributed this to a Japanese concept of mono no aware. While not completely discarding this idea, I like to think of his work as exceedingly accepting. These lingering shots of often unglamorous subjects are given soothing music, proving that in Ozu's work even telephone wires and smoke stacks can be beautiful.

Tatami mats. Photo by Southern Barbarian.

His use of what critics refer to as "tatami" shots has also garnered much attention. Tatamis are traditional mats found in Japanese homes. Ozu places the camera close to the floor, placing the viewer on the level of the characters of the film and making them a silent intruder in the lives of the characters.

Family and modernity are frequent themes in these films. For instance, Ozu's classic Tokyo Story features aging parents who visit their children and grandchildren, only to discover that this family is far too caught up in their own lives to pay them any real attention.While these films are hardly flashy like mainstream Hollywood, Ozu's films are deliberately paced and very much have their own beauty to them. This even pacing allows the viewer to become an organic part of the film itself. We don't simply watch, we become part of Ozu's world.

Photo by Puff's Daddy.

Remaining Screenings:

11/21- An Autumn Afternoon and There Was a Father

11/28- Tokyo Story and Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family