YASUJIRO OZU

Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.5.  Japan, 1959.  Shôchiku Eiga.  Screenplay by Kogo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu.  Cinematography by Yuharu Atsuta.  Produced by Shizuo Yamanouchi.  Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi.  Production Design by Tatsuo Hamada.  Film Editing by Yoshiyasu Hamamura.  

Yasujiro Ozu remakes his delightful silent film I Was Born, But… with equally adorable results. Once again it revolves around the antics of two impish brothers, only in this version their great desire is to be the owners of a television set. Their family believes television to be a thing of unimportance, distraction from their studies and unnecessary for their development, but the boys insist and eventually take their parents on in a battle of wills. Full of the emotional resonance that populates all of Ozu’s wonderful films, this one also features his trademark gorgeous cinematography and hilarious characterizations. The work with the children is wonderful (not as carefree as in the original version, but still up there), and the screenplay, with its commentary on the modernization of the new Japan, is impeccable.