Ozu: Tôkyô no onna (Woman of Tokyo), 1933
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Although many of the characteristics of Ozu's unique shooting style are already in place here -- low angles, fixation on glowing lights, still-life interiors -- the film ends with something not seen at all in his later work ... a very deliberate dolly shot along an empty street. It seems to imply that "life goes on." In his more mature work, the director would make this statement without movement. (TajLV in Letterboxd)
Characteristic of his early films, Ozu addresses contemporary social issues by examining the dissolution of family. Using domestic setting and confined, interior shots, Ozu illustrates the intrinsic interrelation between the individual and the environment: the opening image of Chikako by the kitchen sink that is paralleled in the shot of women washing their hands at the cabaret; the transitional shot of Chikako applying makeup at home that is repeated in the grooming of the hostesses; the close-up image of Chikako’s delicate footsteps upon returning home that is contrasted against Ryoichi’s awkward sandals as he wanders through the evening streets (Acquarello)
The restrained, tremulous performances capture the constant tension of decorum and secrecy, while Ozu’s impulsive, intensely expressive images conjure the riot of inner disorder; few directors have invented, as audaciously yet as quietly, a visual grammar all their own (The NewYorker)
Ozu regular Chishū Ryū has a small role towards the end of the film as a reporter (wikipedia)
(Yasujiro Ozu and Setsuko Hara)
Labels: Ozu
posted by Pierre Radulescu at
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