Having just enjoyed the quiet brilliance of Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story)" for the first time last week, I was immediately drawn to another Ozu film released by the Criterion Collection last year, 1951's "Bakushû (Early Summer)". Both movies are part of his classic Noriko trilogy which uses many of the same actors playing characters with the same names but in different roles. Consequently, the great Setsuko Hara portrays a young woman named Noriko in both movies, but this time, she is the liberated daughter (rather than the forlorn daughter-in-law) and also the focal point of the story (rather than the aged parents in "Tokyo Story").
The musical chairs continue with Chishu Ryu playing his real age as Noriko's strong-willed brother Koichi (rather than the resigned grandfather) and Haruko Sugimura playing older as neighbor Tomi, the mother of Noriko's prospective fiancée (versus the conniving daughter Shige). Chieko Higashiyama still plays the grandmother, but her name is not Tomi but Shige, and her husband Shukishi is portrayed by Ichirô Sugai. It's only confusing if you are looking for some kind of plot continuity between the films, but Ozu is primarily interested in reinforcing similar themes of the evolving family unit in post-WWII Japan. This time, he does it in a more comic, sometimes even ribald fashion, and while it doesn't resonate quite as deeply as "Tokyo Story", "Early Summer" is full of Ozu's shrewd observations and insights that make it emotionally affecting, especially as the story takes a surprise turn toward the end.
The story here centers on the Mamiya family, who are trying to find a suitable husband for 28-year old single daughter Noriko. As typical in Japanese culture, several generations live together under one roof, and a frequent subject of conversation is Noriko's lack of a husband. However, she is a member of the new postwar breed of Japanese women. She dresses almost exclusively in Western clothes and holds down an administrative position in an office in the heart of Tokyo. In spirit, Noriko bears a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", a point raised by film historian Donald Richie on his informative commentary. She loves to go to dinner with her girlfriends. Of the four friends, two are married and two are unmarried. In a particularly amusing scene, the four have a spirited debate about the pros and cons of married life versus single life.
Noriko is happy with her life as it is and doesn't seem to be too concerned with changing it anytime soon. Nonetheless, the family attempts to fix Noriko up with a successful, 40-year old business associate of her boss. Although polite about the matchmaking effort, she becomes more interested in her neighbor, an old classmate now widowed and left alone with a small daughter and his mother. Noriko prefers that her potential husband is an old friend and that they will slip into their new romantic relationship more easily than two complete strangers. The bigger problem, though, is that she makes her decision without consulting with her family and that's where the familial conflict arises.
Hara continues to be a revelation to me, a beautiful, charismatic actress who radiates goodness and a sense of cunning mischief that is entrancing. The supporting performances are excellent with Sugimura again a standout in a surprising turn as the mother grateful to Noriko for her decision to marry her son Kenkichi. Kuniko Miyake has a bigger, more dimensional role here than in "Tokyo Story", playing yet again the brother's wife Fumiko. She and Hara have a particularly lovely scene on the beach at the end of the film, and the two have a pretty funny scene where they hide their clandestine cake slices from the somnambulant child.
Chikage Awashima portrays Noriko's best friend Aya with feisty charm, goading Noriko to see the man she passed up, impersonating a country bumpkin to preview Noriko's new married life and trading innuendo-heavy barbs with Noriko's politically incorrect boss. This latter interchange is surprisingly adult for 1951, as they even joke that Noriko may be a lesbian for waiting so long to get married. The children play more prominent roles here, and Ozu really plays up their bratty insubordination as they hurl inappropriate epithets when they don't get their way, though their running away from home is the catalyst for Noriko to become attracted to Kenkichi.
Yuuharu Atsuta provides the beautiful cinematography, which is gratefully captured in a fairly pristine print of the film, though I have to believe Ozu is the one most responsible for the simple yet powerful scene compositions. His now familiar low-to-the ground camera angles are used consistently in the film to replicate the perspective of someone sitting on a tatami mat. Lighter and more loosely structured than "Tokyo Story", "Early Summer" is essential viewing for Ozu aficionados and anyone interested in post-WWII Japanese society. Along with Richie's thorough commentary, the DVD package also includes a 47-minute documentary, "Ozu's Films From Behind the Scenes", which includes a table discussion with Ozu's longtime cameraman Takashi Kawamata, his sound and editing assistant Kojiro Suematsu and producer Shizuo Yamanouchi who produced six Ozu films.
The musical chairs continue with Chishu Ryu playing his real age as Noriko's strong-willed brother Koichi (rather than the resigned grandfather) and Haruko Sugimura playing older as neighbor Tomi, the mother of Noriko's prospective fiancée (versus the conniving daughter Shige). Chieko Higashiyama still plays the grandmother, but her name is not Tomi but Shige, and her husband Shukishi is portrayed by Ichirô Sugai. It's only confusing if you are looking for some kind of plot continuity between the films, but Ozu is primarily interested in reinforcing similar themes of the evolving family unit in post-WWII Japan. This time, he does it in a more comic, sometimes even ribald fashion, and while it doesn't resonate quite as deeply as "Tokyo Story", "Early Summer" is full of Ozu's shrewd observations and insights that make it emotionally affecting, especially as the story takes a surprise turn toward the end.
The story here centers on the Mamiya family, who are trying to find a suitable husband for 28-year old single daughter Noriko. As typical in Japanese culture, several generations live together under one roof, and a frequent subject of conversation is Noriko's lack of a husband. However, she is a member of the new postwar breed of Japanese women. She dresses almost exclusively in Western clothes and holds down an administrative position in an office in the heart of Tokyo. In spirit, Noriko bears a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", a point raised by film historian Donald Richie on his informative commentary. She loves to go to dinner with her girlfriends. Of the four friends, two are married and two are unmarried. In a particularly amusing scene, the four have a spirited debate about the pros and cons of married life versus single life.
Noriko is happy with her life as it is and doesn't seem to be too concerned with changing it anytime soon. Nonetheless, the family attempts to fix Noriko up with a successful, 40-year old business associate of her boss. Although polite about the matchmaking effort, she becomes more interested in her neighbor, an old classmate now widowed and left alone with a small daughter and his mother. Noriko prefers that her potential husband is an old friend and that they will slip into their new romantic relationship more easily than two complete strangers. The bigger problem, though, is that she makes her decision without consulting with her family and that's where the familial conflict arises.
Hara continues to be a revelation to me, a beautiful, charismatic actress who radiates goodness and a sense of cunning mischief that is entrancing. The supporting performances are excellent with Sugimura again a standout in a surprising turn as the mother grateful to Noriko for her decision to marry her son Kenkichi. Kuniko Miyake has a bigger, more dimensional role here than in "Tokyo Story", playing yet again the brother's wife Fumiko. She and Hara have a particularly lovely scene on the beach at the end of the film, and the two have a pretty funny scene where they hide their clandestine cake slices from the somnambulant child.
Chikage Awashima portrays Noriko's best friend Aya with feisty charm, goading Noriko to see the man she passed up, impersonating a country bumpkin to preview Noriko's new married life and trading innuendo-heavy barbs with Noriko's politically incorrect boss. This latter interchange is surprisingly adult for 1951, as they even joke that Noriko may be a lesbian for waiting so long to get married. The children play more prominent roles here, and Ozu really plays up their bratty insubordination as they hurl inappropriate epithets when they don't get their way, though their running away from home is the catalyst for Noriko to become attracted to Kenkichi.
Yuuharu Atsuta provides the beautiful cinematography, which is gratefully captured in a fairly pristine print of the film, though I have to believe Ozu is the one most responsible for the simple yet powerful scene compositions. His now familiar low-to-the ground camera angles are used consistently in the film to replicate the perspective of someone sitting on a tatami mat. Lighter and more loosely structured than "Tokyo Story", "Early Summer" is essential viewing for Ozu aficionados and anyone interested in post-WWII Japanese society. Along with Richie's thorough commentary, the DVD package also includes a 47-minute documentary, "Ozu's Films From Behind the Scenes", which includes a table discussion with Ozu's longtime cameraman Takashi Kawamata, his sound and editing assistant Kojiro Suematsu and producer Shizuo Yamanouchi who produced six Ozu films.