Early Summer Reviews

The Japanese film Bakushû (1951) was shown in the U.S with the title Early Summer. The director was Yasujiro Ozu.

The film is a quiet movie about a family in postwar Japan. The family lives together in suburban Tokyo--mother, father, their son and his wife, their two young boys, and their daughter, Noriko.

The daughter is played by the wonderful actor Setsuko Hara, who is perfect for the role. (Ozu wrote, "Every Japanese actress can play the role of a prostitute . . . however, it's rare to find an actress who can play the role of a daughter from a good family.") Setsuko Hara is that actor, and the role of Noriko is that role.

Hara was a famous film star. Besides Ozu, she starred in movies by other great Japanese directors--Akira Kurosawa and Mikio Naruse. But she was Ozu's muse, and, in one case, he refused to direct a movie if she didn't star in it. She also starred in Late Spring (1949) and Tokyo Story (1953). These three films form "The Noriko Trilogy." The plots are independent of each other, but the protagonist in each film is named Noriko.

In this movie, the family is happy. Sister and sister-in-law get along well, they have a beautiful home, and the son is a successful doctor. The only problem is that Noriko is 28, and not yet married. She appears to be content. However, at the time, it was assumed that a woman would get married. In fact, it's not obvious why she hasn't married. It may be as simple as that the right man hasn't come along.

The plot works itself out from these basics. It reminded me of a Jane Austen novel--friendships, interactions, and minor disagreements. No hatred, no anger, and no jealousy. People have basically accepted the fact that Noriko won't marry, at least unless Mr. Right comes along.

This movie is pure Ozu. The camera angle is low and shoots upward. This makes sense because most of the interpersonal action takes place while the actors are seated on mats, in the Japanese fashion. Also, Ozu believed that audience members to the front of a movie theater have to look up at the screen, so be wanted the action to be closer to their eye level.

Ozu uses another interesting technique. He shows us a set with actors speaking in it. Then the actors leave, but we still see the set. That's Ozu's way of telling us that life goes on. A room is still a room, even if no one is in it.

This movie is a masterpiece. It has an amazing 8.2 IMDb rating. I rated it 10. If you love great movies, it's a must-see.

P.S. We saw the Criterion Collection version of Early Summer. Normally, Criterion Collection DVD's have many special features, but this one doesn't. There was just one extra film--a short documentary entitled Ozu's Films Behind the Scenes. This movie features three film professionals who had worked with Ozu many years earlier. It's anecdotal and interesting, but not worth seeking out.

A snapshot in the lives of a family going through rapid changes after several years of a peaceful existence. The story is focused on, but not confined to the youngest daughter. She is pressured by the family to finally get married to a man proposed by her boss but has ideas of her own, something almost unheard of in a traditional Japanese family of the time. The real charm of the film is that it paints a peaceful but realistic portrait of family life with it's subtle pulls and pressures without resorting to melodrama. The ending is almost bitter-sweet, as all change in life always is.