For the uninitiated, Ozu had a thirty-five year career, staring with his silent debut in 1927, to his death in 1963, and he scarcely made a bad film. He was always acclaimed at home, but only found an international following after his passing thanks to fans and critics like Paul Schrader and David Bordwell. Today, his films regularly rank highly on international critics polls, with “Tokyo Story” in particular often named one of the greatest movies ever made.
To those who never quite get the taste for him, Ozu made the same movie over and over again: quiet, understated dramas that often felt like variations on the same theme, using his trademark semi-austere, observational style (including the tatami shot, with the camera looking up at the actors from the ground) over and over again. His fans might possibly agree with assessment, but would also point to the endless nuance and humanity in Ozu’s work that makes his films endlessly moving, satisfying and rewarding.
With “Early Spring” playing until the end of the week, and many of Ozu’s finest works available on Criterion, we’ve picked out five of our absolute favorites as the essential entry-points to the director’s work, though we could have gone on much longer. Take a look below, and let us know your own beloved Ozu films in the comments section.
