I am glad that Shii was able to start and end his Berlinale with the best and second-best film he saw respectively. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t see “Aimer, boire et chanter”, but in the end, “Akibiyori” was a very good substitute.
Akibiyori (Late Autumn)
Japan 1960, Yasujirou Ozu, 129’
At the funeral of Akiko’s husband, the friends of the deceased decide that they want to help her 24-year old daughter Ayako to get married. However, Ayako refuses to get married because she does not want to leave her single mother alone. So the friends make a ploy to have Akiko marry to one of the friends as well.
Death count: 0.
“Akibiyori” is the fourth color film by Ozu I have seen (besides Floating Weeds, Ohayo and An Autumn Afternoon). He didn’t make very many of them, but incidentally I saw more color films of his than black and whites (namely the older Floating Weeds and Tokyo Monogatari) and so far, I think that I prefer late Ozu by far. Somehow I think that color totally helps Ozu’s esthetics, the colors are rich and beautiful and enhance the splendor of the interior he designs.
The story of “Akibiyori” is Ozu’s favorite topic – a daughter who does not want to marry out of concern for her widowed parent. It was the same in “An Autumn Afternoon”, and I know that “Late Spring” is another one of these. I have to admit that I am obsessed with the concept too. I even liked “35 Rums” for its subtle Ozu homage, but I don’t really know why that is. There is something very artificial about this story, just like how the immensely clean and proper Ozu world is somewhat artificial too. But I just love it so much? Ozu’s late films always make me want to live in his world – the colors are beautiful and the characters have this very posed way of dealing with each other. I don’t even mind his sexist jokes (they are what I call Altherrenwitze (old man jokes) and I kind of enjoy them when they are harmless) in comparison to his younger films in which I perceived Ozu as outright misogynist. But late Ozu has a certain lovable self-indulgence and wisdom, an adoration for subtle feelings and tradition which I can totally get behind. The mizuwaris, the sake, the sushi, the polite speech – late Ozu is the pinnacle of romantic Japaneseness, and I am in love with those visuals.
The only aspect I really hated about the film, incidentally, is Setsuko Hara. Now I realize it was her who ruined “Tokyo Monogatari” for me, she just has this incredible punch-me face. Her over-the-top Japanese politeness is unbearable to me, whenever she says something it makes me want to throw up and her smile is just terrifying. Luckily, she was not the only character in the film but only one amongst many lovable ones. Sushi girl is the best! Her lovable, fierce character compensates whatever Setsuko Hara is destroying in the film.
With that said, the biggest surprise to me was how many actors from “Doshaburi” showed up in this movie! Like… 4 people at least? I am counting Yuriko, one of the wives, one of the daughters and of course Ayako’s love interest. It shows how versatile a lot of these actors are, and they really were brilliant.
When I realized that Ozu made two more color films, “Equinox Flower” and “The End of Summer” (these seasonal titles in the English translation for Ozu films is horrible… it makes them sound like they are all the same?) I totally want to see them now, even if they have Setsuko Hara in them. :D