Good Morning - Criterion Collection (1962)

Good comedy

Of the Big Three Japanese film directors from last century, who were known in the West, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Yasujiro Ozu, Ozu is by far the least well known, and this is because he was probably the least technically innovative of the troika. But, that is not the same as saying he was the least accomplished. In fact, his 1959 social comedy of manners, Good Morning (Ohayo), set in a modern Tokyo suburban subdivision, is in many ways far more relevant than the more famed period pieces the other directors made, for it has a definite Western sensibility. Ozu seemed to be obsessed with documenting history, but history as it was lived, not re-imagined. He was acutely aware of his role as a social documentarian, if in a fictive sense. It was also his third color film, and on the surface it would seem to narratively square very easily with the 1950s era American television comedies, as the central story of the film revolves around two brothers' silent protest over their clan's refusal to modernize and buy a tv like their friend's family has. It all seems very Beaver Cleaver, but appearances are not everything, especially when the patina is crafted by a Master from another culture.
Most of the film is shot in Ozu's famed and unjustly derided low camera angle, with a static lens, lending the charge of `minimalism' to his style. Yet, while that may be true in certain technical aspects, the truth is that the film, written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, is very multi-layered, deftly weaving low comedy- such as excessive farting, and all the modernism that entails, as the boys play a game where one boy presses another's forehead and he farts in response, with deeper social commentary on alcoholism, the `generation gap'- that old saw of the era, unemployment, and the bile of social gossip. The seemingly carefree farting of the children is thus deftly contrasted with the often ineffective social mechanisms of the adults. The title of the film, in fact, has an ironic meaning, for Ozu casts it as being said mostly in a negative and perfunctory way.... Compared with American suburban films from later years, like Ordinary People, or even films made in the last decade, like The Ice Storm or American Beauty, this film does not seem dated, especially compared to American film comedies of the era. Compare it even to a typical Billy Wilder comedy of the era and Ozu's superiority is manifest, almost as much as a fart is to some meaningless bon mot. Ain't art wonderful?
September 11, 2008

Light-hearted domestic comedy . . .

This is Ozu at his best, a nicely crafted ensemble piece about several suburban families living in close proximity - so much so that their houses seem to open up into each other. Their lives likewise overlap, and the opportunity for a little misunderstanding and misjudgment (as in any good sitcom) quickly has its ripple effect through the whole community. Light hearted and pleasantly humorous, there are no real crises to be resolved. What we get is a celebration of daily domestic life, which is often a theme in Ozu stories, only this time the poignant shadows that sometimes creep in around the edges of his films are totally absent. For Ozu fans who know his more mature work, "Ohayo/Good Morning" may seem a little light weight. Still there is much to be enjoyed. January 19, 2008

Amusing and satirical exam of communication

Once you have watched an Ozu film, you will recognize it clearly as his. He often casts the same actors to fulfill roles. His films deal with the common everyday life's situations with mothers, fathers, children, families in love, conflict, and death. Ozu first film was in 1929 and his last in 1962.

Use of Red or Blue
Since I have not seen all his films, I recognize in many, an eyecatching motif is the use of colors, namely blue and red. In Good Morning, almost every scene here you can spot something red standing out. Whether it is a rug, a pot, shoes, clothes on a line, a wall, whatever, something in red is strategically placed in the shot. Blue is used more in the outdoors, like the sky or rooftops.

Geometric figures
Ozu frequently uses circles or rectangles as background patterns. Almost all the scenes have these geometric designs. It is easy to spot.

Low-angle camera shot
Another recognizable feature is the use of low-angle, he places the camera the level of the floor; this is our view of where action is, the floor.

Set in 1959, two young boys, and I equate them to young Wally and Beaver Cleaver stage a silent protest until they get a TV. The younger boy is so adorable, and he so reminds me of little Beaver Cleaver. He looks up to his older brother, mimics his every move and even exhibits some amusing actions of his own. The background story is a satirical examination of the communication, gossip, rumor fueled by the adults. This is humorous and enjoyable. .....MzRizz

June 26, 2007

Ozu, Most Japanese of the Japanese directors

Ozu has been called the most Japanese of all Japanese directors, and for good reason, he is. Ohayo (Good Morning) is Ozu at his Japanese best. There is a misunderstanding among the neighborhood ladies. Some club money has turned up missing. The misunderstanding is compounded by two boys, who after an argument with their parents, are told to shut up. The boys want a television set, the parents do not. The boys take their parents admonition to shut up to the extreme, they stop speaking to everybody, even the neighborhood ladies. These ladies find that their customary greetings of ohayo (good morning) to the boys goes unanswered. The ladies feel that the boys mother is angry at them and a neighborhood quarrel ensues. Finally the parents relent, the boys get their television set so life resumes to normality once again, everyone is happy. No action, just everyday life. February 26, 2006

Ignorant the previous review

Who obviously knows nothing about Ozu or his canon of films. This is one of Ozu's pure comedies, and one of his best. Hopefully Criterion will re-issue it with more features. September 2, 2005

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