I found myself in the mood to watch 1949's Late Spring (晩春) again last night. Ozu Yasujiro is usually most highly regarded for his compositions but I'd say he also gets extraordinary performances from his actors. Now that I've seen him in more movies by other directors, I can appreciate how vulnerable and layered Ryu Chishu's performance is in this film.
Particularly memorable is the scene where he lies to his daughter, Noriko, played by Hara Setsuko, claiming he wants to remarry. The way his face twitches is so natural, and so clearly indicates he's not accustomed to lying to her. And you can see how painful it is that he's manipulating the situation to achieve an outcome neither of them really wants.
Of course, Hara Setsuko is amazing, too. She was idolised as the "eternal virgin" and that's certainly appropriate for her role here as a young woman who doesn't wish to marry and leave her father. But Hara's performance is more complicated than the shy and blushing youth most would associate with someone idolised for conveying virginity. There's an intensity about her, the beginnings of the frozen smile of someone used to bottling things up, yet at the same time she's remarkably unfiltered. She delights her former professor when she calls him "filthy" because he divorced and remarried. Not having embarked on the normal journey of life and love, her childish ideals have been allowed to calcify.
Naturally, the film's beautifully shot, too. This is my first time watching it since I moved to Japan and it's a different experience seeing the characters in Kyoto, visiting places I've visited myself, Like this rock garden at Ryoanji Temple:
Late Spring is available on The Criterion Channel.
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