232 A Story of Floating Weeds & Floating Weeds

[Michael Kerpan]

I love I Was Born But AND Good Morning. Not sure which you saw first. But judging IWBB as an early version of Good Morning (as conventional wisdom wrongly depicts it) would cause one to approach it from the wrong direction. It is far less comic overall the Good Morning, a lot of darkness (and occasionally a considerable degree of bitterness) in its humor.

I also rate Tokyo Inn as Ozu's greatest pre-talkie (not a silent actually, as it had a synchronized score) and it is near the top of my overall Ozu list as well. I am a bit biased in favor of both Passing Fancy and The Wife on That Night (as I wrote articles on them), but would also put in a plug for Tokyo Woman.

I love Tokyo Twilight (Ozu's darkest film) and like Early Spring (perhaps his second darkest post-40s film) very much. These both require one to synchronize oneself to a somewhat atypical Ozu wavelength. I believe both were made in the wake of Naruse's Floating Clouds (which apparently very much shook Ozu up). Also, these two films both reflect Ozu tuning into the same underlying anger and discontent among the younger generation that was just beginning to be manifested "angry" younger directors (first in the "sun tribe" films and then in the Japanese "new wave") (sooomething he also partially prefigured in Hen in the Wind).

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

Yes yes, but HOW do you rate the remake of Floating Weeds?

Anyways, I did watch IWBB before GM, and I was expecting some kind of remake when watching GM. But I wouldn't call it that. It's much more of a reworking as opposed to Floating Weeds which I, on the other hand, would definitely call a remake as much of it is almost a shot by shot re-imagining, just changing the overall tone from drama to comedy. I found the story of IWBB to be interesting and tender, but way too thin to stretch over 90 minutes. I think it would have been much more powerful if he had tightened it up and made it as focused as Record of a Tenement Gentleman, for example. That story is also thin but it doesn't drag on and on, but it still retains the usual Ozu poetics.

Thanks for the silent recommendations. It sounds like I should just aim at watching most of the available stuff, apart from the school comedies which BFI put out. I must say that I'm not in a hurry to watch those if they are "funny" the same kind of way that IWBB is. As a sidenote, I should say that I have been blown away by Mizoguchi's 30'ies film, and I think he was miles ahead of Ozu back then with films like Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion which are somewhat proto-feminist films if you don't count Pabst work in Europe.

Finally, I would really love to have liked Early Spring, but to me it was just overly dramatic; he is telling the story too directly and too to the point which doesn't make sense because Ozu is the master of NOT spelling out his films. At least to me, he is. To me the beauty of his work is that you so have to invest in his films to "get" them. And that wasn't the case for me with Early Spring or Tokyo Twilight, for that matter. Which are both pretty basic dramas, which are inarguably Ozu'esque, but I only found the latter to be something completely different and somewhat refreshing, thus not a complete bore.

I should say that I find Ozu films incredibly hard to rate because most of them are so subtle. So when something like the color Floating Weeds pops up in his filmography it becomes all the more appalling.

[Michael Kerpan]

I love the cinematography of the 1959 Floating Weeds and the color usage -- and I very much enjoy the performances. I don't see it as , overall, more comic -- though perhaps the comedy is in different places. I personally would not want to be without either.

I prefer 30s Ozu (and Naruse and Shimizu) to Mizoguchi's 30s films (many of which I also admire quite a lot). I don't really find anything in IWBB boring (nor do I find it too long) -- but "different strokes ..."

I am biased -- but I think it is worthwhile seeing any of the available Japanese 30s films. Unfortunately, there is so little available.

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

I really liked both but definitely prefer the silent. The tone in the remake is obviously different - the story is a little lighter, with more comedy alternating with the violently dramatic moments, so that it doesn't generate the same mood and emotion. Great characters and visuals throughout though, although Nakamura in the lead is a little dull. I can think of much weaker late Ozus, like Tokyo Twilight and especially The End of Summer.

I don't know, I just couldn't at all get into the comedy of the remake. I didn't find it funny, mostly just over the top, both with regards the supposedly comedic scenes and the (overly) dramatic ones. I don't know exactly why, but the film struck me as very "off" compared to his other late ones. Maybe it has something to do with it being produced by another studio? I don't know, it just felt forced. As mentioned, there were of course some great classic shots, and Haruko Sugimura was amazing as always. To me she's the archetypal Ozu actress, even more so than Setsuko Hara (but of course behind Chishu Ryu). But yes, I agree that the lead didn't impress as opposed to the one in the silent. The only shot that I think bettered the silent version's was the very final shot, especially the composition of the red lights of the train going into the blue of the night. The scene of the father going fishing with the son was very underwhelming in the remake compared to the poetic one in the silent.

With regards to the weakest late Ozu film, for me it has to be Floating Weeds or Early Spring which I found to be at least half an hour too long, very meandering and badly paced. Way too long to tell a simple story. I haven't seen The End of Summer yet; still missing his final three films as I am going chronologically through his filmography. But I quite liked Tokyo Twilight, mainly because it is so different compared to his other films. Almost noir'ish. I know that people complain about it being too melodramatic, but I mean, haven't they seen Floating Weeds?

My favorite Ozu film so far has to be Late Spring which just hit me so hard. It's just prime Ozu, and I think it surpasses Tokyo Story. So I'm looking forward to the next film in line, Late Autumn, as I understand that it's a loose remake with the father subbed for a mother?

Is there any of his silents that should be rated as must-sees? I didn't like I Was Born, But..., so I don't think I should be traveling down the comedy road of his silent work. When the comedy's not too forced and bittersweet, like in The Record of a Tenement Gentleman or Equinox Flower, I like it, though.

I finished watching the final three colour films, and I must add to the above that I quite liked The End of Summer. Very much so. I find it hard to put a finger on exactly why, but it just sticks out in his later filmography. It is kind of different, kind of like Floating Weeds done right. There are some similarities in the choice of actors and the old patriarch finding the love of his youth again. The final 15-20 minutes is some of the best Ozu has ever done, I think. I found the film very fresh and different, although I can't put my finger on exactly why. The blending of themes, and the comedy vs. seriousness just seemed very well-balanced here.

The one thing that struck me regarding his colour films is that they are funnier, or maybe jovial is the word, than his late b/w films. Especially when you view Equinox Flower just after the very very bleak Tokyo Twilight. Also, in An Autumn Afternoon, the drinking jokes get much rowdier than usual. I will say that the general assumption that this film is kind of a summation of his themes, and maybe the the ultimate one is quite spot on. Also, I think, technically, it is his most refined film. Some of the scenes when Hirayama and Kawai is discussing and drinking, even the sake bottles are line up to make the cuts almost seem like mirror images. It was amazing.

One thing I have found few comments on is the way in which industrialization seems to play a major role in this one. There is smokestacks all over, and generally the mise en scene is crowded and even looks cheap sometimes, much more so than in any Ozu film I have watched. Is he commenting on the city vs. nature, just like old vs. new Japan? It seemed to me like Ozu was a nostalgic until the end.

[FilmSnob]

Just watched A Story of Floating Weeds and while it was ok, didn't cut as deep as I would expect. Mostly it left me looking forward to seeing the remake, which I haven't watched yet, so I'm disappointed to see most or all here preferring the original. I'm holding out hope that I will find the later one to be even better.

I didn't care for Donald Sosin's score in A Story of Floating Weeds either. I've often found myself watching these early Ozu's in complete silence because of the annoying music-- Tokyo Chorus was a prime example, a film I otherwise loved.

Neil Brand's scores in the gangster films were the only ones I liked. Especially Walk Cheerfully and Dragnet Girl. Just beautiful music and a beautiful movie.

I cannot believe there are people who disliked I Was Born, But ... What an authentic and genuinely funny film. You start to notice Ozu's spatial patterning in this movie. For instance, even if you haven't seen the film in a long time, you know those two little boys and their father walk out the front door, past the dog and white picket fence, turn left down the street....eventually have to wait to cross the train tracks....then the father continues straight to work while the boys turn left, walk down that street a distance, and the school is on their left. If you've seen Late Spring, you know the entire layout of the Somiya house. The street outside their home. I find the repetition and familiarity of Ozu's spaces endlessly fascinating.

[Michael Kerpan]

I love how noisy IWBB is --especially when there is no musical score. The visual reminders of the almost ceaseless passing trains is more compelling than any possible music (and maybe more effective than actually hearing the trains over and over).

Floating Weeds and its silent predecessor have very different moods and acting styles. If one is used to Ozu's more boisterous silents, Story of Floating Weeds may seem unduly subdued. It involves a bit of recalibration -- but the visual beauty won me over (not sure whether it took 2 -- or 3 -- viewings for this to happen).

[Finch]

BD upgrade in May



SPECIAL FEATURES
4K digital master of Floating Weeds, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack (Blu-ray); high-definition digital transfer of Floating Weeds (DVD)
High-definition digital master of A Story of Floating Weeds, featuring a score by composer Donald Sosin, presented in 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary for A Story of Floating Weeds by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie and for Floating Weeds by film critic Roger Ebert
Trailer
English subtitle translation by Richie for Floating Weeds
PLUS: An essay by Richie

Covers by Lucien S. Y. Yang

[onedimension]

Why would this not be a UHD?... Major Ozu, overdue for an upgrade from the DVD

[ryannichols7]

while it's disappointing they didn't opt for a larger box, this was the most in need of an upgrade. basically all of Ozu's Shochiku restorations are available in English subbed discs, but this one Kadokawa title isn't. I've obviously been pestering about it on this board for years now, and I'm glad to finally see it come to fruition!!!

roll on The Munekata Sisters and The End of Summer next, please

[Peacock]

Ryan took the words right out of my mouth. So happy to finally get A Story of Floating Weeds in HD,

[domino harvey]

I remember the Virgin Spring coming out not long before the big Bergman set, so it might be worth holding out if you feel like betting on an Ozu box. They’ve slowed their roll on Ozu releases but there was certainly a time when it seemed like he was the label’s favorite director and could very well still be

[Matt]

Huh. Yeah, I remember them releasing a couple of Bergman BDs right before they announced the Ingmar Bergman's Cinema box, which seemed a little rude at the time. These are not my favorite Ozus, so I can hold off on this one just to see what happens.

I saw yesterday that the Ozu's Diaries documentary will be released theatrically later this year and then air on TCM in 2025, so there's certainly a lot of activity around his work right now.

[starmanof51]

I remember the Virgin Spring coming out not long before the big Bergman set, so it might be worth holding out if you feel like betting on an Ozu box. They’ve slowed their roll on Ozu releases but there was certainly a time when it seemed like he was the label’s favorite director and could very well still be

I’ve held off on each Ozu Blu Ray thus far - at some point it became because of betting on a big box. My resolve may be about cracked

[hearthesilence]

After the recent screening of Stories of Floating Weeds (NYFF 110 Shochiku) Sosin talked about how Ritchie had given him some notes concerning the playing of music during Ozu's silent films (something about not playing music *with* the film, or underlining emotion, but rather keeping it bright and cheerful throughout.) I think this was basically him admitting he had done wrong for the DVD, as the live version was radically different from the recorded one. Better, but still not appropriate.

Also, I was sitting next to Joseph Anderson, co-writer with Ritchie for The Japanese Film, and he said that if it were up to Ozu he would have "used American music" from the time, to play during his films. That's about as close to the so-called horse's mouth as you get. I can just imagine Lady and the Beard with a jazzy mono version of "I'm Just Wild About Harry", "Jeepers Creepers", or "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B".

Interesting. This post is nearly 20 years old now, and I don’t see any indication from the upcoming Blu-ray’s release notes that Criterion is changing Sosin’s score from the original 2004 DVD.

FWIW, Joan Jonas picked this film to screen in her program at MoMA and it played twice - first time with Sosin and this afternoon with Makia Matsumura. I couldn’t make the screening with Sosin but maybe someone who did can post about it. Matsumura was excellent and FWIW didn’t incorporate any American pop tunes…that would have been discombobulating for me had she done so.

[otis]

A Story of Floating Beavers & Floating Beavers