Yasujiro Ozo. The wife and I are already big Roger Ebert fans, but if nothing else we’ll always be grateful to him for turning us on to this great Japanese filmmaker. His wonderful Tokyo Story (1953) will probably always be on our personal top 10 list. We recently watched his final movie, An Autumn Afternoon (1962), made the year before he died and one of I believe only six color features.
I remember in 1994, the Goethe Institute in Bangkok held a Yasujiro Ozu/Wim Wenders film festival. The German filmmaker Wenders claims a large influence from Ozu, and for two weeks the institute would screen one Ozu film and one Wenders film back-to-back every evening, more on weekends. Personally, I could not see much similarity, although one of the Wenders films screened was Tokyo-Ga (1985), a documentary in which Wenders searches for the Tokyo that Ozu portrayed. And the whole thing was free.
One Saturday halfway through the event, a daylong seminar was held. The Goethe Institute flew in the American film critic Donald Richie, who is an expert on Japanese film and based in Tokyo, to speak on Ozu. They also flew in a Wenders expert from Germany, but I regret that I cannot remember his name. They lectured on the two, and more films were shown. Again, this was all free. And more: When it came time to break for lunch during this daylong seminar, there was a surprise announcement that everyone present was invited to a lunch buffet at a nearby hotel, and even this was free, the institute picking up the tab. This was just fantastic.
I honestly can’t think of any I would not recommend. But we also recently watched what I believe was his first talkie, The Only Son (1936) and There Was a Father (1942). Those might be a good place to start. Any of his “season” film – Late Spring, Early Summer etc – are great. I remember especially liking Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952).
And almost all of Ozu’s films – 52 out of 54 – of course has his favorite actor, Chishu Ryu (the father in Tokyo Story), sometimes in a small role, often as the lead. He appeared in Wenders’ Tokyo-Ga documentary too, discussing his relationship with the director.
After I stumbled on Tokyo Story on IFC I was hooked on Ozu. Since then I’ve watched all of his films that were made after Tokyo Story. The two pre-Tokyo-Story movies that I particularly like are Late Spring and Early Summer, which are the other two parts of the “Noriko” trilogy starring that wonderful actress Setsuko Hara (who’s still alive at 91!). For an Ozu movie with a different flavor (not as thought provoking and kind of fun), I’d recommend Good Morning. Ozu’s distinctive directing style is something I appreciate more and more when I rewatch his movies. However, I will say that his films are not for everyone. The dialog can be sparse and the themes may not resonate for a Western audience.
I’m a fan (Tokyo Story’s my favorite). Criterion Collection’s got about 17 of his films on DVD (some as part of sets), and I’ve got them all except the silent films.