Nadia borrowed Yasujiro's Ozu's Tokyo Story recently. Set in early post-war Japan, the movie is a meditation upon the changed priorities of the generation that emerged from the Pacific war, and the resulting conflicts with tradition and family obligation. Central to this is a story of one family, separated by distance and the imperatives of events.
The entire movie is shot at floor or knee level and actors often directly speak to camera. Conventions are broken to heighten the empathic engagement or personalize the movie - in fact, the overall effect is one of being an intimate on the set, observing, almost intruding into the lives of the characters.
A wonderful tale of a Japan that once was, looking at a Japan that is unlikely to come again.
No comments:
Post a Comment