Yasujirō Ozu’s earliest surviving film film Days of Youth is marked by age. It makes for a film with a lot to show for itself even though it’s far from perfect.
The film’s protagonists do well contrasting each other with the hot-headed bully Bin, and the carefully naive Shuichi. As they battle for the girl they both like, Chieko, their friendship ebbs and flows; the film’s central conflict, ripe with slap-stick comedy to keep the viewer engaged.
Unfortunately, Chieko’s characterization isn’t particularly well fleshed out, making it harder to engage with the protagonists’ struggles. Nevertheless, the film is still fun to watch and along with some at times beautiful cinematography - the scenes in the snow shows some great work with contrasts - the film is generally captivating.
It’s always fun to dive into a great director’s earlier work, and while I haven’t watched too much of Ozu’s work and had a hard time warming up to it, Days of Youth makes me excited to watch even more of his work.
Yasujirō Ozu’s earliest surviving film film Days of Youth is marked by age. It makes for a film with a lot to show for itself even though it’s far from perfect.
The film’s protagonists do well contrasting each other with the hot-headed bully Bin, and the carefully naive Shuichi. As they battle for the girl they both like, Chieko, their friendship ebbs and flows; the film’s central conflict, ripe with slap-stick comedy to keep the viewer engaged.
Unfortunately, Chieko’s characterization isn’t particularly well fleshed out, making it harder to engage with the protagonists’ struggles. Nevertheless, the film is still fun to watch and along with some at times beautiful cinematography - the scenes in the snow shows some great work with contrasts - the film is generally captivating.
It’s always fun to dive into a great director’s earlier work, and while I haven’t watched too much of Ozu’s work and had a hard time warming up to it, Days of Youth makes me excited to watch even more of his work.
