What Ozu means to me

There have been a few artists who have had a profound effect on me, profound in the sense that their ideas or their words have helped mold me into the human being I am today. A few of those names include Charles Dickens, Bob Dylan, William Shakespeare, and Groucho Marx. Being a film buff I'm sure I could add many film makers to this list, but Yasujiro Ozu is the one who has impacted me the greatest.

It was about two years ago when I first heard Ozu's name, before then the only other man I associated Japanese cinema with was Kurosawa. I was shuffling through Roger Ebert's Great Movies list as I do on occasion, and on this particular day I came upon the title "Tokyo Story". As I was reading the review, the plot intrigued me (it was later that I found out that plot in an Ozu film is virtually non-existent). It was the story of an elderly couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their children for what will probably be the last time. The idea of it struck me as so simple yet so ingenious. I set out to find "Tokyo Story" and find it I did.

At first viewing I didn't know what to think, it was definitely a movie I was not used to, it was almost as if the whole style put me off guard. I was waiting for a big emotional payoff at the end of the film and it never happened. But the film kept nagging me, I knew there was something more to it, so it wasn't soon later that I watched it again, and then again. What I picked up more and more were the subtle nuances in the film, I payed more attention to the dialogue and started to think about what was not being said rather than what was. I started asking questions about certain shots Ozu made. As many Ozu admirers know, his camera mostly remained stationary and his favorite placement was always three feet off the floor which was the average height of a person sitting on a tatami mat. It was this style I fell in love with, what a beautiful and unique way to shoot a film, this way made it easy to observe the characters without being distracted. We are kept at a distance, always looking in, never interfering with the action going on. When I noticed the moments Ozu did move his camera it was usually to stay with a character, like if they were walking down a street or riding their bicycle down the road, it seemed he was doing it out of necessity so the characters don't go out of frame. However by "Tokyo Twilight", his tracking shots became non-existent.

It became clear to me that the characters were the most important in his films which is probably why I've grown to love them so much. His characters all seem so real, they are never glamorized for the sake of plot or theme, they are motivated by their reality. When I first saw his masterpiece "Tokyo Twilight", I was amazed at how realistic his characters were to me, they were so real that I thought Ozu was taking people out of my own life and putting them in his film, but this couldn't have been since it was made over fifty years ago. I don't remember ever being caught up with every major character in a film and sympathizing or at least empathizing with their situation.

Since first viewing "Tokyo Story" which seemed like another lifetime ago, I have watched nine other Ozu films, all of the ones that are available (I think) in North America (with the exception of "Good Morning), I have read Donald Richie's book "Ozu" which discusses in great detail, the film maker's process from writing the script to the editing of the film. Perhaps it's a bit obsessive of me, but it's all very fascinating. I suppose I could compare it to falling in love for the first time, or falling in love all over again. His style sticks with you, and if you care to get into it, it's a very satisfying feeling one gets after watching his films. Each and every one of them have become personal favorites of mine, and if I'm ever feeling low, I sometimes get the impulse to watch one of his films. They put me at ease, I think it's because his films remind me what it's like being human, and I suddenly don't feel alone in the world, and when you can feel that way every time, that's when you know you're in the hands of a master.