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Early Summer - (1951) - Ozu
Life in the suburbs
The set-up? A family portrait of the close knit Mamiya family in the quiet Tokyo suburb of Kita-Kamakura. A husband is proposed to the still unmarried Noriko (Setsuko Hara)---by her boss no less, which then sets in motion a lengthy of match making process with it's innumerable checks and balances and the inevitable changes it will have not just for her but her entire family.
At the beginning of every Ozu film there's always a period of character exposition. Since he used the same actors over and over---and the actors were allowed to play a wide range of different characters from film to film, he carefully sets in place the relationships of who is playing who and what.
The family consists of 28 year old Noriko; an executive secretary. She lives with her brother Koichi (a successful physician) with his wife Fumiko and their two boys, Minoru and Isamu (the younger terror) Their elderly parents, Shukichi and Shige also live with them. Noriko's best friend is Aya(ko); her mother runs a prosperous hotel/restaurant complex.
There's good characterization of the various members of the family. Particularly Noriko's brother, Koichi. He's kind of strict disciplinarian and distant father. He quietly chafes about the newly found independence of women who can freely express their opinions without difference to his. He hides out at his friend's who has a private practice, because his two boys makes his own home too noisy.
I liked the jumps in time in the story. It's up to the viewer to figger out whether a minute, a day, or a couple of weeks have passed from scene to scene.
Another big ellipsis in the film is the war and the American occupation of the country. In 1951, the effects were still being felt. There's a subtle guilt about store bought cakes, fizzy pops and dinners in the Ginza, since they know exactly what that would have cost in rations, only a couple of years ago. Real deprivation and hardship is not a distant memory.
"A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips"
There's lots of little details in the film. The two young boys echo the elderly pair of brothers. The ribbon on the dresser; is this the one Noriko wore in her hair as a young girl? The dark horse suitor. Although he appears to have strolled in out of left field. If you were paying attention; his family still remains close to theirs He was best friends with her MIA brother and they've been around one another most of their lives. The toy trains are a wonderful echo to the commuter trains speeding people towards other destinations and distant places but mostly away from home.
The only sour note is the subtitles. There's a few careless mistakes in the translation. She returns to the office to "design", instead of resign. The proposed suitor is referred to ironically, as "not" being a player. She has a scrapbook of Katherine Hepburn photos and not "Audrey" Hepburn.
This is one of Ozu's better efforts, sprinkled with little bittersweet moments of moving on. One of Noriko's friends suggests they get together on the weekend. Noriko prepares the party, but all her married friends bail at the last minute. Her group of friends from high school are quickly growing apart. In her last meeting with her boss, he confesses his secret regret; maybe he should have thrown his hat into the ring while he had the chance. Or when they pose for the idyllic family portrait of happiness at the end. That moment is already a distant memory.
Life in the suburbs
The set-up? A family portrait of the close knit Mamiya family in the quiet Tokyo suburb of Kita-Kamakura. A husband is proposed to the still unmarried Noriko (Setsuko Hara)---by her boss no less, which then sets in motion a lengthy of match making process with it's innumerable checks and balances and the inevitable changes it will have not just for her but her entire family.
At the beginning of every Ozu film there's always a period of character exposition. Since he used the same actors over and over---and the actors were allowed to play a wide range of different characters from film to film, he carefully sets in place the relationships of who is playing who and what.
The family consists of 28 year old Noriko; an executive secretary. She lives with her brother Koichi (a successful physician) with his wife Fumiko and their two boys, Minoru and Isamu (the younger terror) Their elderly parents, Shukichi and Shige also live with them. Noriko's best friend is Aya(ko); her mother runs a prosperous hotel/restaurant complex.
There's good characterization of the various members of the family. Particularly Noriko's brother, Koichi. He's kind of strict disciplinarian and distant father. He quietly chafes about the newly found independence of women who can freely express their opinions without difference to his. He hides out at his friend's who has a private practice, because his two boys makes his own home too noisy.
I liked the jumps in time in the story. It's up to the viewer to figger out whether a minute, a day, or a couple of weeks have passed from scene to scene.
Another big ellipsis in the film is the war and the American occupation of the country. In 1951, the effects were still being felt. There's a subtle guilt about store bought cakes, fizzy pops and dinners in the Ginza, since they know exactly what that would have cost in rations, only a couple of years ago. Real deprivation and hardship is not a distant memory.
"A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips"
There's lots of little details in the film. The two young boys echo the elderly pair of brothers. The ribbon on the dresser; is this the one Noriko wore in her hair as a young girl? The dark horse suitor. Although he appears to have strolled in out of left field. If you were paying attention; his family still remains close to theirs He was best friends with her MIA brother and they've been around one another most of their lives. The toy trains are a wonderful echo to the commuter trains speeding people towards other destinations and distant places but mostly away from home.
The only sour note is the subtitles. There's a few careless mistakes in the translation. She returns to the office to "design", instead of resign. The proposed suitor is referred to ironically, as "not" being a player. She has a scrapbook of Katherine Hepburn photos and not "Audrey" Hepburn.
This is one of Ozu's better efforts, sprinkled with little bittersweet moments of moving on. One of Noriko's friends suggests they get together on the weekend. Noriko prepares the party, but all her married friends bail at the last minute. Her group of friends from high school are quickly growing apart. In her last meeting with her boss, he confesses his secret regret; maybe he should have thrown his hat into the ring while he had the chance. Or when they pose for the idyllic family portrait of happiness at the end. That moment is already a distant memory.