Supremely faithful to Kawabata's amazing novella, and similarly subtle in its depiction of a fated romance between a troupe singer and a young male student. Gosho's direction bears all the hallmark of a veteran even at an early age. There's clearly some influence of Griffith and Eisenstein in its visuals but the themes of self-sacrifice and purity are very much Japanese.
Early and mid-20th century Japanese cinema is truly amazing.
No matter how many times one watches an Ozu film, it never gets old. The only other Japanese director I can say that about is Mizoguchi.
Contrary to popular belief, Ozu didn't want to shoot this film in color. He didn't want to shoot any film in color. But he gave into studio's demands. As you would expect, his use of color is a bit awkward and not particularly subtle. He didn't exactly use every color in the book, but…
For the longest time, Mikio Naruse was a director without a "style." This worked against him. Many who wrote about him couldn't find much to discuss in terms of his aesthetic. I, for one, I'm glad to see that is changing. But it hopefully won't take any attention away from the fact that it's the small moments and details that make them what they are.
Lightning is quite a busy and noisy movie. There are lots of characters in tight,…
