What Did the Lady Forget?- A 1937 Movie Directed by Yasujiro Ozu- Run Time 1 Hour 15 minutes

 Available on YouTube with English Subtitles


Prior Films by Yasujiro Ozu I have posted upon


Tokyo Story - 1953


There Was A Father - 1952


The film tells the story of Komiya (Chishu Ryu), a middle-class professor who lives a comfortable but somewhat uneventful life with his strict and traditional wife, Tokiko (Yoshiko Kuga). One day, Komiya's niece, Setsuko (Sumiko Kurishima), comes to visit from Osaka. Setsuko is a liberated young woman who smokes in public and has a modern outlook on life. Tokiko is initially disapproving of Setsuko's behavior, but she eventually begins to soften towards her.

Meanwhile, Komiya is feeling restless and bored in his marriage. He tells Setsuko that he has to go on a weekend golfing trip to Izu, but he actually plans to spend the time with a geisha. However, he changes his mind at the last minute and decides to go home instead.

When Komiya arrives home, he finds that Tokiko has left. She has left a note saying that she is going to visit her parents in the countryside. Komiya is confused and upset. He doesn't know why Tokiko left, or when she will be back.

Komiya spends the next few days trying to figure out what happened to Tokiko. He talks to her friends and family, but no one seems to know where she is. He eventually realizes that Tokiko left because she was unhappy in their marriage. She felt that he was taking her for granted, and that he didn't appreciate her.

Komiya finally realizes that he needs to make some changes in his life. He needs to be more attentive to Tokiko and show her how much he loves her. He also needs to start living his own life and not just the life that she wants him to live.

In the end, Tokiko returns home and they reconcile. However, the film ends with a question mark, suggesting that their relationship is still in flux.



What Did the Lady Forget? is a complex and nuanced film that explores a variety of themes, including marital relations, gender roles, and social change. It is a beautifully made film with a timeless message.

I very much enjoyed the depiction of the visit of the husband and his niece to a geisha house and the visit of the wife and her friends to a Kubiki Theater.  The conversations of the wife with her friends gives us a look into how upper-class Japanese women looked upon marriage in the 1950s. Plus it was fun to seem them banter with each other. The niece represents perhaps the emerging post war Japanese woman.

Mel Ulm

There Was a Father is a 1942 Film - Directed by Yasujirō Ozu. The film stars Chishū Ryū as Shuhei Horikawa - Run time One Hour and 34 minutes

 Available on YouTube with English Subtitles 

Originally released in 1942 during World War Two, the only surviving prints were clipped by censors under orders of General MacArthur to remove what were viewed then as scenes celebrating the Japanese war efforts.

The film stars Chishū Ryū as Shuhei Horikawa, a widower and schoolteacher who struggles to raise his young son Ryohei (Haruhiko Tsuda) alone. After a tragedy involving the death of one of his students, , Horikawa resigns his position and moves to the country with his son. As Ryohei grows and needs better schooling, Horikawa makes the difficult decision to move to the city for better paying work. The father and son then spend the next decade or more barely seeing one another, as the grown son attends university and then begins work in another city.

The film follows the father and son over the course of many years, as they experience both joy and sorrow.

Shuhei Horikawa is a widower who works as a mathematics teacher. He has a ten-year-old son named Ryohei.

One day, while on an excursion with his class, one of Shuhei's students drowns. Shuhei blames himself for the accident and quits his teaching job.

He moves to the countryside with Ryohei, where he finds a new job as a clerk.

Ryohei grows up and goes to college. He gets a job as a teacher in another city.

Shuhei and Ryohei rarely see each other, but they remain close.

In the end, Shuhei dies peacefully in his sleep.

The film is set in the early 1940s, during World War II. This historical context is important to the film, as it reflects the challenges that Japanese families faced during this time. The film also explores themes of sacrifice, duty, and family.

There Was a Father is a beautifully made film with a moving story. It is a classic of Japanese cinema and is considered one of Ozu's best films

The film explores the themes of fatherhood, sacrifice, and duty. It is a quiet and understated film, but it is also deeply moving. Ozu's use of traditional Japanese techniques, such as low-angle shots and long takes.

Like A Tokyo Story death of parents and spouses are central to this film.

The scenes of the students reunion made me wonder how many of the actors would survive the war.

There are a number of Yasujiro Ozu's films on YouTube with Subtitles and in time I hope to watch them all.

Mel Ulm

Tokyo Story - A 1953 Movie Directed by Yasujiro Ozu - starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama

 

Tokyo Story is about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. The film was a critical and commercial success in Japan, but it did not receive international recognition until the 1970s. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made.

The film tells the story of Shukishi and Tomi Hirayama, an elderly couple who travel from their small seaside village to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Their elder son, Koichi, is a doctor who is busy with his work and his young family. Their daughter, Shige, is a hairdresser who is also busy with her work and her husband. The only child who has time for them is their daughter-in-law, Noriko, who is the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war.

The Hirayamas are disappointed by the lack of attention they receive from their children. Koichi and Shige are too busy with their own lives to spend much time with them. Noriko tries to be a good hostess, but she is also busy with her own work. The Hirayamas feel like they are a burden to their children and they start to feel lonely and isolated.

Tokyo Story is a beautifully made film that is both moving and thought-provoking. It is a film about the importance of family and the challenges of aging. It is also a film about the changing values of Japanese society in the post-war era.

Here are some of the things that make Tokyo Story a great film:

The acting is superb. Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama give heartbreaking performances as the elderly Hirayamas. Setsuko Hara is also excellent as Noriko.

The direction is masterful. Ozu uses his trademark low-angle shots and long takes to create a sense of intimacy and realism.

The writing is sharp and insightful. The film explores complex themes of family, aging, and loss with honesty and compassion.

The cinematography is beautiful. The film is beautifully shot in black and white and it captures the sights and sounds of post-war Tokyo.

Tokyo Story is a must-see for any fan of cinema. It is a film that will stay with you long after you have seen it.

The film is set in 1953 post-war Japan, a few years after the new Civil Code of 1948 stimulated the country's rapid re-growth and embraced Western capitalist ideals while simultaneously destroying older traditions such as the Japanese family and its values. Ozu was very close to his own mother, living with her as a surrogate wife and never marrying. Ozu called Tokyo Story "the film that tends most strongly to melodrama." It is considered a Shomin-geki film for its depiction of working-class people.

"Ozu was born in Tokyo in 1903. He began his career as a film assistant in the 1920s and directed his first film in 1927. He made over 50 films over the course of his career, including such classics as Tokyo Story (1953), Late Spring (1949), and An Autumn Afternoon (1962).

Ozu's films are often praised for their simplicity and understated beauty. He was a master of capturing the small moments of everyday life, and his films often have a wistful, nostalgic quality. Ozu was also a pioneer in the use of sound in film, and his films often feature long, uninterrupted takes that allow the viewer to immerse themselves in the world of the film" Bard

I intend to watch and post on all of his films on YouTube that have English Subtitles

Mel ulm

Tokyo Story is Available on YouTube with English Subtitles