Tokyo Story

Dir: Ozu Yasujiro
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara
Year: 1953

I recently reviewed Chinatown and called it 'bleak'. Some would argue that Tokyo Story is bleak, but I wholeheartedly disagree.

Narry Borman found Tokyo Story to be a very positive film. It shows in quite minute detail how people drift away from each other, even within families, but at the same time, Tokyo Story shows how people come together.

When an old couple visit their children in Tokyo, they are neglected and treated as a nuisance by their son and daughter. The contrast between these two generations is plainly evident: the younger generation are barely human, and have no understanding of what is important. The old couple, on the other hand, are hard-working, likable people, who accept their situation with a smile.

Fortunately, the wonderful Noriko (Setsuko Hara) shows them that not everyone has turned soulless in Tokyo. She's only their daughter-in-law but she looks after them and takes an interest in them unlike their children.

Tokyo Monogatari is positive because of two things:

1. The parents happily accepted the natural circle of life (even death)
2. Noriko showed that good people don't change despite generation gaps (her feelings were always genuine, and she was so much better than the other children, but still really humble)

Anyway, I hate it when people interpret films, so I'll stop there. But Narry found it touching. 'Nuff said.

Ozu's direction is masterful, as always. Every shot is set up like a carefully-studied photograph, and human characters are given the spotlight instead of story, script or settings.

Genius!

Night of the Hunter

Dir: Charles Laughton
Starring: Robert Mitchum
Year: 1955

I've wanted to see this film for a few years now as I heard the main character was quite off-beat (especially so for a 50's film). He is indeed scarily abnormal - Mitchum plays a preacher who funds his work with various heinous crimes, but still maintains his good relationship with 'the Lord'.

As he goes in pursuit of two children who he believes have $10k hidden in a doll, Mitchum gradually gets more and more psychotic until there is no question of his insanity. It's acted and directed with incredible subtlety.

If this were a modern film, Mitchum's character would have been foaming at the mouth and screaming obscenities. Instead he eerily sits around singing hymns, playing with a flick-knife. That's why I say Night of the Hunter is well ahead of its time.

The director was Charles Laughton. You all know Charles Laughton. He was in Spartacus, Witness for the Prosecution and some other rather big films of the 30's-60's. Night of the Hunter is the only major film that he directed, though. And he does a swell job. In fact, the direction is quite modern, and it is imaginatively made. Narry particularly liked the scene where the children are floating down the river on the boat - reminded him of his own childhood.

Night of the Hunter is not without its flaws. It's somewhat prone to the kind of over-acting and under-acting that plagues a lot of older films, but the lead actors more than make up for that deficiency. The southern setting was quite brilliant, showing backwater US with its conservative and quite frankly crazy population (hope I don't alienate my Alabama audience with that comment). The accents were simply darling - "Go look in mirror over yonder".

Top work!