This cycle of three films finds Ozu saying goodbye to making movies about small children or college kids (for the most part). We see his signature lead actor (Chishu Ryu) take on more substantive roles, in addition to the rise of a silent-era comedy star (Takeshi Sakamoto) and the big break for a legendary Japanese actress and filmmaker (Kinuyo Tanaka).
The next few Ozu films cover the last four movies he made in 1930 (out of seven), and the three that he made in 1931. They are a diverse mix of crime, melodrama, romance, an attempt at a character franchise, and the story of Japan's cultural progression.
Check back on this entry in March, when I get my hands on the BFI's latest Ozu Collection release and add screengrabs from the first feature in this in batch...
Satoko Date in 1931's The Lady and The Beard
These Appendices are designed to be the a biographical catch-all for individual performers and collaborators, as well as provide additional context for Ozu's career. All of the individual entries related to the subject will be listed in the corresponding post. I will update the Appendix articles over time so that new information can be included and so that the links are relatively up to date.
One of the best frames of I Flunked, But..., where a pair of sweethearts have a private moment together.
Kinuyo Tanaka gets some loving close-ups. There were rumors that Ozu was very sweet on her, but she didn't return his affection.
The last of Ozu's 1929 films and the first half of those he made in 1930 reveal a filmmaker in transition. He is in search of his voice in addition to how he can push that individuality out around the edges of the studio system's staid templates.
Sadly, out of the seven movies discussed in this chapter, only two survive in complete form. Fragments of three survive, and yet two more are completely, irretrievablty lost.
From 1930's I Flunked, But...
Seventeen of Ozu's films are irretrievably lost. In fact, none of his first seven films survive. No scripts, stills, or prints are known to exist. This installment of Discovering Ozu looks at what we do know about those seven films and examines Ozu's earliest surviving feature, Days of Youth.
From 1929's Days of Youth, Ozu's earliest surviving feature