Munekata kyôdai (1950)

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1. 

   Siskoid

   I generally love Ozu's work, but some of his films hit me more strongly than others. Put 1950's The Munekata Sisters in that column. 5 years after the War, we meet two sisters who each culturally teeter on opposite sides of it. The eldest, Setsuko, wears kimonos and visits temples, and though she is a business woman, is demure and deferential, a traditional wife to a husband who doesn't seen to care much about her. Mariko, on the other hand, is the most modern character Ozu has probably ever breathed life into. Interested in up-to-date fashions and spending her time with a guy who sells CHAIRS, she surprises with a lack of manners and a wild spirit that taps into the movie scripts she imagines herself and other navigating. She's the lively future of Japan, which Ozu rarely celebrates to this extent, usually adopting a resigned stance to change while mourning pre-war Japan. But while Mariko is the one to watch, it's Setsuko who will squeeze your heart with her restrained emotions - a beautiful performance from Kinuyo Tanaka. The father who is dying of cancer (or to stubborn to succumb to it) is a decoder key, ill because of excess, which for Japan was the war, yet forging ahead and loving both his girls equally. And the two women ARE more alike than even they realize, in their overwhelming imaginations and in their authenticity and stubborn will to be nothing but themselves. An underrated Ozu, as far as I'm concerned. 1 week ago
2. 

   elcid

   This film deserves to be in an official list, it develops in an unexpected and provocative way and has, I think, a lot of autobiographical material about Ozu himself. 2 years 6 months ago

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