Bakusu / Early Summer (1951) :
Brief Review -
That underrated piece of quality cinema which was overshadowed in Ozu's Trilogy between Banshun and Tokyo Story. When i was done watching Banshun i had a thought that what could be the storyline of Bakushu if it was about the similar unmarried girl. By mistake i watched Tokyo Story before this so i was like what else is left by Ozu. He told the story of an unmarried girl who finally gets married in Banshun and he told the post marriage story of old-age tragedy in Tokyo Story then could Bakushu be the the middle portion of it? My speculations were wrong as Bakushu deals with many issues ranging from communication problems between generations to the rising role of women in post-war Japan while the centre character is same as Banshun, an unmarried girl. This film was actually grinded between two grand classics of the Noriko trilogy mainly because it is lot simpler and somewhat unvaried. However, Ozu's storytelling is as impeccable as it could get and it even touches the high bar most of the times. It has different emotional touch though, like you see, we all know the scenario in the family when any girl is about to Marry. The preparations and joyful pain in the heart was too obvious hence Ozu brought Family Values in it. It may not have solid emotional ending but it has something different and better and that is called Nostalgia. Yes it sounds weird, i mean Family Values Nostalgia seems bit nonexistent thing but Bakushu had it invented right there. I was completely moved by that final discussion scene of scattered family. I could feel it, like real hence Nostalgia. Like other Ozu films this one is also blessed by powerful performances, great screenplay, classy cinematography and mesmerizing dialogues. Master Ozu knows how to deal with weak writing with his strong direction and that's exactly what he did here.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest
That underrated piece of quality cinema which was overshadowed in Ozu's Trilogy between Banshun and Tokyo Story. When i was done watching Banshun i had a thought that what could be the storyline of Bakushu if it was about the similar unmarried girl. By mistake i watched Tokyo Story before this so i was like what else is left by Ozu. He told the story of an unmarried girl who finally gets married in Banshun and he told the post marriage story of old-age tragedy in Tokyo Story then could Bakushu be the the middle portion of it? My speculations were wrong as Bakushu deals with many issues ranging from communication problems between generations to the rising role of women in post-war Japan while the centre character is same as Banshun, an unmarried girl. This film was actually grinded between two grand classics of the Noriko trilogy mainly because it is lot simpler and somewhat unvaried. However, Ozu's storytelling is as impeccable as it could get and it even touches the high bar most of the times. It has different emotional touch though, like you see, we all know the scenario in the family when any girl is about to Marry. The preparations and joyful pain in the heart was too obvious hence Ozu brought Family Values in it. It may not have solid emotional ending but it has something different and better and that is called Nostalgia. Yes it sounds weird, i mean Family Values Nostalgia seems bit nonexistent thing but Bakushu had it invented right there. I was completely moved by that final discussion scene of scattered family. I could feel it, like real hence Nostalgia. Like other Ozu films this one is also blessed by powerful performances, great screenplay, classy cinematography and mesmerizing dialogues. Master Ozu knows how to deal with weak writing with his strong direction and that's exactly what he did here.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest