Had seen a few of Yasujiro Ozu's films some time ago, and was blown away by them, but never got around to seeing his whole filmography. With a lot of time on my hands for obvious reasons, after being on a roll watching a number of foreign films recently it occurred to me by chance not long after a friend raved seeing 'Tokyo Story' that there was much more to see of his films. So decided to do so, and am still kicking myself as to how it took me so long to watch and review the ones not yet seen.
Of which 'Early Spring' was one of them on both counts. It is not one of his most critically acclaimed films, despite being positively reviewed it has never as can be recalled been on "the best of Ozu" lists, but (as cliched as this sounds) even when Ozu was not at his best he was still worth watching. Bad films of his were extremely rare in my view. 'Early Spring' is a long way from being one of his best, it is not on the same level as 'Tokyo Story' and 'An Autumn Afternoon' (am not trying to be unfair here). Yet it still manages to be a very good film indeed.
'Early Spring' is not perfect. Will agree with those that say that the film can be too slow. Ozu's pacing in his films does tend to be deliberate, but even for his deliberate pacing there were times where the pace here in 'Early Spring' was too on the sluggish side.
Not helped by that the story is very slight, Ozu's films don't have complex plots and are not known for them but there were times here where the plotting veers on non-existent.
This is going to sound to others that to me 'Early Spring' was a bad films. Have actually said already very clearly that it isn't. Ozu's direction is typically meticulous and always assured and sensitive, this was the sort of film that he excelled in and that can be seen here. Though other films do it even better. It looks good too, the settings are not elaborate as such and any outdoor scenes are used sparingly but the clever and beautifully framed photography is striking. As is the gentle in mood score that goes for the emotional core without over-emphasising.
It is beautifully written as a film, lucid, sincere and always rings true. The story is slight and could have done with a quieter touch and a tighter pace, but it has a humanity and compelling realism to it and it was very interesting to see Ozu tackling a theme he didn't usually have in his films. There are characters in other Ozu films that are easier to get behind and more richly developed, but they are still interesting and don't ring false. They are compellingly acted too, especially from Ozu regular Chishu Ryu bringing his usual dignity.
Overall, very good. 8/10
Of which 'Early Spring' was one of them on both counts. It is not one of his most critically acclaimed films, despite being positively reviewed it has never as can be recalled been on "the best of Ozu" lists, but (as cliched as this sounds) even when Ozu was not at his best he was still worth watching. Bad films of his were extremely rare in my view. 'Early Spring' is a long way from being one of his best, it is not on the same level as 'Tokyo Story' and 'An Autumn Afternoon' (am not trying to be unfair here). Yet it still manages to be a very good film indeed.
'Early Spring' is not perfect. Will agree with those that say that the film can be too slow. Ozu's pacing in his films does tend to be deliberate, but even for his deliberate pacing there were times where the pace here in 'Early Spring' was too on the sluggish side.
Not helped by that the story is very slight, Ozu's films don't have complex plots and are not known for them but there were times here where the plotting veers on non-existent.
This is going to sound to others that to me 'Early Spring' was a bad films. Have actually said already very clearly that it isn't. Ozu's direction is typically meticulous and always assured and sensitive, this was the sort of film that he excelled in and that can be seen here. Though other films do it even better. It looks good too, the settings are not elaborate as such and any outdoor scenes are used sparingly but the clever and beautifully framed photography is striking. As is the gentle in mood score that goes for the emotional core without over-emphasising.
It is beautifully written as a film, lucid, sincere and always rings true. The story is slight and could have done with a quieter touch and a tighter pace, but it has a humanity and compelling realism to it and it was very interesting to see Ozu tackling a theme he didn't usually have in his films. There are characters in other Ozu films that are easier to get behind and more richly developed, but they are still interesting and don't ring false. They are compellingly acted too, especially from Ozu regular Chishu Ryu bringing his usual dignity.
Overall, very good. 8/10