AM Film Club #1: Late Spring (Ozu, 1949)

[ordinaryperson]

Sorry if this seems like it came out of nowhere (which it did). As I have said before I had plans to do something like what luney6 is doing with "Album of the Week" but he (or she) beat me to it. Also recently I feel like I've been losing my interest in film and I've decided that this might help. Plus I feel like there needs to be more of a discussion of films on here rather than just listing them.

What is this?

A film club where you review the film that is selected.

How do you decide on the film?

I use TSPDT's top 2,000 and a random number generator.

How long will the film be discussed for?

For 2 weeks because of how films aren't readily available.

Anyway let's get on with this.



IMDb/ Wikipedia/ Can I Stream It

"One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever—and a strong justification for its maker’s inclusion in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors."- Criterion (Also on TSPDT's website)

You can review the film, discuss the film, do anything you want to do!

[whuntva]

It was certainly...interesting.

I wasn't too keen on the story. Romantic plots are never my thing. But I will say I liked the director.

I'm no stranger to Ozu's work. I sat through Tokyo Story fine. His atmospheric and theatrical style really fits the mood. I really liked how Ozu lets the audience decide how the marriage works out and what the new husband looks like. And the acting was pretty good. I really liked the old father.

I give it an 8/10. Probably a film I respect more than I "like", but still good on its own merits.

But thank you for starting this. I am actually very close to finishing TSP's Top 100. I have about 28 to go. Though I am struggling to find a version of Contempt with appropriate subtitles.

[Chilton]

Maybe it's better to only use the top 1000 of TSPDT? There are some hard-to-find titles or even art installations between 1001 and 2000 (or you could just skip those).


Edit: I will of course try to watch Late Spring, hopefully next weekend.

[luney6]

Are the 1001-2000 films numbered?

[whuntva]

Yes, they are. They are included in a separate tab. And they are arranged numerically, I believe.

Actually, take that back. I just went there and they are unranked listed alphabetically.

[ordinaryperson]

Maybe it's better to only use the top 1000 of TSPDT? There are some hard-to-find titles or even art installations between 1001 and 2000 (or you could just skip those).

I'll change it to just the top 1,000. There are films that are not hard to find on the 2,000 (Batman, Pink Floyd The Wall, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), but there are a lot more hard to find films on there. So it'll be just the top 1,000 from now on.

Yes, they are. They are included in a separate tab. And they are arranged numerically, I believe.

Actually, take that back. I just went there and they are unranked listed alphabetically.

For some reason I remember the 1,001-2,000 being numbered also. I used a Google doc to number the films.

[chevisan]

Very nice film. Ozu is one of my favorite directors.
The acting and directing are great. However,I liked "An Autumn Afternoon" a bit more, which is basically a remake that puts more emphasis in the father (Chishu Ryu again) than in the daughter. I found the story more engaging in "Autumn" (although the bond between father and daughter is stronger in "Late Spring").

Like other movies of him, Ozu deals with traditional family issues. There is an ambiguity of feelings. In one hand the characters assume their responsibilities in starting a new life and growing up (the daughter). But in the other hand, they are acting according to what others and specially society expects from them despite that they think it will not make them happy. It makes you question if what the society demands can be always considered correct.

I give it a 7.5 (but taking in mind i'm very conservative with ratings).


PD: If it's gonna be one film per week, it will take like 20 years to cover 1000. Maybe it could be one per day or more.

[Chilton]

I finally managed to watch Banshun aka Late Spring, my first cinematic encounter with Mr. Ozu. I couldn't get into it for the first half hour or so (even thought it was plain boring despite all that great pickle talk), but then it picked up gradually, resulting in an absolutely stunning last 20 minutes. Still it left me a bit hanging, I expected a bit more from a film of such status, and while Ozu's directing style sure is interesting, his constant use of static shots doesn't speak to me, I even found it borderline awkward during that bicycle scene.

All in all, nice movie, and one I definitely respect, but not necessarily like. For now I give it a 6.5/10, but I already know I have to rewatch this some day.

TSPDT films seen: 233/1000 (Yes, I still have a lot of work to do )

Maybe it's better to only use the top 1000 of TSPDT? There are some hard-to-find titles or even art installations between 1001 and 2000 (or you could just skip those).

I'll change it to just the top 1,000. There are films that are not hard to find on the 2,000 (Batman, Pink Floyd The Wall, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), but there are a lot more hard to find films on there. So it'll be just the top 1,000 from now on.

Maybe you can use the top 2,000, but skip the films that only have a limited number of ratings/checks/votes on either RYM, iCM or IMDB, so as to make sure everything is easy to find?

[ordinaryperson]

Let me tell you first off that I'm not very good at writing film reviews

Saw Late Spring today, I really enjoyed the cinematography and I enjoyed the underlining message, even though the ending was depressing. For the beginning of the film I thought it was going with a critique on traditions but in the middle of the film it changes the message into "don't be afraid to do things". While that message isn't bad either it's kind of a disappointing turn around.This was the first film by Ozu I've seen and it's safe to say I enjoyed it and look forward to (eventually) seeing Tokyo Story.

Maybe it's better to only use the top 1000 of TSPDT? There are some hard-to-find titles or even art installations between 1001 and 2000 (or you could just skip those).

I'll change it to just the top 1,000. There are films that are not hard to find on the 2,000 (Batman, Pink Floyd The Wall, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), but there are a lot more hard to find films on there. So it'll be just the top 1,000 from now on.

Maybe you can use the top 2,000, but skip the films that only have a limited number of ratings/checks/votes on either RYM, iCM or IMDB, so as to make sure everything is easy to find?

I don't want to do that because it seems unfair to films that wouldn't make the cut. Plus it would be too complicated.