Floating Weeds

There is a humanistic universality to Ozu’s films that transcends their deeply Japanese cultural context. My father asked me to watch this film. I see both the love we share for one another and the sadness from our at times tenuous and distant connection reflected in this quiet and subtle drama. Somehow watching a film about an itinerant Kabuki actor becomes a deeply personal experience for me, and that is the great beauty of Ozu’s work. Technically the film is a marvel. The camera is completely static - any movement would perturb the perfect composition of every shot. The scene where Kumajuro and his mistress Kumiko argue from opposite sides of the street, divided by a sheet of rain, is one of the most poignant and beautiful scenes in his filmography. A masterpiece.