akratic

Tokyo Story (1953), Yasujirô Ozu.

thevirtualself:

晩春 / Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

“As Donald Richie notes in his essay included in the Criterion package, Setsuko Hara finally escaped the grand design of Ozu’s cinema by retiring from public life in 1961. LateSpring is the first in a series of five films in which she returns again and again as the unmarried or widowed daughter or daughter-in-law. It sets the tone of her mythic status as Japan’s ‘eternal virgin,’ embodying an ideal of purity, asceticism, and self-sacrifice within a changing world. While Ozu’s distinctive style endows everyday life with an aspect of spirituality, Hara’s enigmatic performance conveys the tension of a woman trapped in someone else’s dream.”

Catherine Russell
Cineaste, Spring 2007, Vol. 32, Issue 2

晩春 / Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

“As Donald Richie notes in his essay included in the Criterion package, Setsuko Hara finally escaped the grand design of Ozu’s cinema by retiring from public life in 1961. LateSpring is the first in a series of five films in which she returns again and again as the unmarried or widowed daughter or daughter-in-law. It sets the tone of her mythic status as Japan’s ‘eternal virgin,’ embodying an ideal of purity, asceticism, and self-sacrifice within a changing world. While Ozu’s distinctive style endows everyday life with an aspect of spirituality, Hara’s enigmatic performance conveys the tension of a woman trapped in someone else’s dream.”

Catherine Russell

Cineaste, Spring 2007, Vol. 32, Issue 2

criterioncast:

Gifs were clearly invented for Yasujiro Ozu films.

gifmovie:

Late Spring / Banshun (1949)

Haiku-like, beautiful minimalist directing style of Yasujiro Ozu.

robotsarethebest:

Set Photo: Yasujiro Ozu teaching his cast how to cry on the set of LATE AUTUMN