February 2012
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WatchRichard Brody’s DVD OF THE WEEK: Floating Weeds (The New Yorker Online):
Yasujiro Ozu’s 1959 film “Floating Weeds,” which I discuss in this clip, is a drama about the romantic entanglements of members of an itinerant theatrical troupe with residents of a small seaside town, and offers a bright and flamboyant palette of cinematic color to match the emotional intensity of the action. Ozu is...
January 2012
3 posts
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December 2011
20 posts
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#29. hiking -a telegram comes in. Yoshida goes home first -Kasa feels bad so he goes home worried. But once he goes home, there is nothing wrong -so many rule changes, but no definite
#30. Kasa’s friend admits to Kasa being a rare value -that’s strange that you say that. You’re being stubborn -I’m not being stubborn -Toshi...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#26. I can’t believe you remembered something like that still -I don’t have resentment, I just have a good memory -but since you do resent me, that’s why you remember it
#27. Kasa, playing Japanese game go
#28. fight -physical fight -the mediator of the wedding tries to stop -there’s no need to stop, just let them hit each...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#22. the day after the fight at the restaurant -both parties have somewhere in their body that hurts -both lie and say that they got those bruises from golfing accidents -at the bar, when he’s about to leave, goes to the bathroom -at least let me piss
#23. takes no notice
#24. the corner
#25. there is a fist fight -the...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#19. daughter and father fight -the daughter leaves and goes to her friend, Baisho’s place
#20. the old part of Tokyo, and the friend has a modest lifestyle
#21. Toshi and Kasa fight -but while the husbands are fighting, the wives meet secretly to discuss about wedding plans
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On emotion in cinema:
Get rid of all the dramatics and show a sad character. Without using drama make the audience feel the emotion.
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#18. Tanaka (Toshi’s wife), buys Iwashita (daughter)’s furniture so she could bring that to her marriage -when Toshi looks at this, he says, “what!” -I don’t want my daughter to be married to the son of that guy
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#15. last scene -they both understand where each other is coming from, but yet they still fight
#16. kasa’s son, Yoshida is employed at Toshi’s company -don’t go to that company -I didn’t want my son to be allowed to go there -but I took a test to get into this company
#17. Toshi -don’t get married into that old man’s family...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#12. Radish and carrot -they were in love during childhood -during childhood, both talk badly about their fathers
#13. Nobu’s wake
#14. reunion -Toshi and Kasa all go to a pub together and there get in a fight. The daruma (a Japanese potbelly figure) moves -Toshi holds a beer bottle -slams his hat down and leaves -didn’t...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#6. lazy person -that’s why when you’re told that you don’t have much time to live, you can do good work
#7. during high school, sleeping was the best thing I did
#8. during the war, I rode a boat from Tsuruga, but then I encountered a torpedo, and I fell into the orcean, and I swam all night and landed in Miyazu
#9. Kasa:...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#4. Nakamura is asked to be a spokesperson for the wedding (a spokesperson is someone that just represents the bride or the groom) -Kasa and Tokutoshi while they are fighting just talks further about things
#5. Nobu: has cancer—gastric ulcers -should tell him -shouldn’t tell him -sincerely worried about him -as the German...
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#2. the place where the fight took place -Tokutoshi is holding a beer bottle
#3. it’s not a “wild goose” (same word as cancer), it’s a wild duck, a normal duck
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Ozu and Noda’s notes for The Radish and the Carrot // OZU MONTH:
#1. surprised at the habitual statements
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Of course, December is OZU MONTH (born and died on Dec. 12). Starting today, I’m going to offer scraps from the translated notes of Ozu and Noda – in regard to The Radish and the Carrot, which Ozu was planning to direct before he passed away. These notes were shorthand for Ozu and Noda, who were often of one mind. They give insight to how they constructed films, and what they considered to...
November 2011
2 posts
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October 2011
3 posts
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Ozu on blooming late:
You begin climbing the mountain when you’re young; then at a certain height you discover a new pathway, so you go down and take it. This type of person is called a late-bloomer. I took one path and when I was almost to the summit I had a strong feeling that I should take another path.
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On cinema:
I don’t think film has but one form. If a good film results, then that film has created its own grammar.
September 2011
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homage, ii →
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WatchFrom 1946 to 1955, Ozu wrote all his screenplays (with partner Noda) at a hotel in Chigasaki. OZU’S ROOM is an interview with the owner of this hotel (Chigasaki-Kan), who was six years old when he first met Ozu.
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On too much drama:
Pictures with obvious plots bore me now. Naturally a film must have some kind of structure or else it is not a film, but I feel that a picture isn’t good if it has too much drama or action.
Making tofu. Day 8.
August 2011
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On existence:
Life, which seems complex, suddenly reveals itself as very simple.
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On drama without explanation:
It is easy to show drama on film; the actors laugh or cry, but this is only explanation. A director can really show what he wants without resorting to an appeal to the emotions. I want to make people feel without resorting to drama. I’ve been trying to do this ever since The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, but it is very difficult.
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On the humanness of actors:
I don’t care whether an actor can express emotion well or not. To me the important thing is character, to catch the humanness.
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On the humanness of actors:
It is impossible to write a script unless you know who is going to play the part, just as a painter cannot paint unless he knows what colors he is going to use. Name stars have never been of much interest to me. What is important is the character of the actor. It is not a matter of how good an actor is; it is a matter of what he is as a human being. It is not the...
July 2011
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Some context for the previous quote. It comes from a recollection of Yoshida Kiju (a key member of the Shochiku New Wave) in his book Ozu’s Anti-Cinema. It’s January 1963 at a restaurant in Kamakura. The Shochiku Ofuna Studio Director’s Club is throwing a New Year’s party:
I clearly remember that night as if it were yesterday because I have often thought about it. Among the fifteen or so film...
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On the life of a director:
After all, film directors are like prostitutes under a bridge, hiding their faces and calling customers.
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I want to portray a man’s character by eliminating all the dramatic devices. I want to make people feel what life is like without delineating all the dramatic ups and downs.
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On a cinema of humanness:
What do I mean by character? Well, in a word, humanness. If you don’t convey humanness, your work is worthless. This is the purpose of all art. In a film, emotion without humanness is a defect. A person who is perfect at facial expression is not necessarily able to express humanness. In fact, the expression of emotion often hinders the expression of humanness. ...
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