Stories of Floating Weeds (1970)

Ozu is a master

Yasujiro Ozu was perhaps the greatest obsessional filmmaker in history. Thus, it's no surprise that not only did he rework the same themes over and again in his films, but that he also redid earlier films of his own years later, such as 1932's I Was Born But... as 1959's Good Morning. The most famed examples of this trait are 1934's silent black and white A Story Of Floating Weeds (Ukikusa Monogatari), written by Ozu and Tadao Ikeda, and 1959's sound color film, Floating Weeds (Ukigusa), written by Ozu and Kôgo Noda. Both films, whose titular metaphor revolves around the lives of itinerant actors, tell basically the same tale, in slightly different ways, with differently named characters. They follow the ups and downs of the leader of a really bad theater troupe, on its last legs (not unlike the characters from Federico Fellini's first film, Variety Lights), who lands in a town and visits an old girlfriend who bore him a son. In both films, the son believes his father is really his uncle, and the major development in the films is how the father's jealous actress girlfriend tries to sabotage things by having a pretty young actress seduce the son, thus recapitulating the father's key moment in life, one the father believes ruined his chance at stardom and happiness.
If one is thinking that this is the stuff of pure melodrama, it is. But that's true only on the surface. This is where depth and execution of an art come into play. It also abnegates claims that Ozu eschewed plot in his films for melodrama is about nothing if but plot. While it's true he did not strive for A to B to C narratives, and preferred `organic' story growth, the fact is that all his films had plots, and good ones. But they were not plot driven, nor dependent upon the heavyhanded machinations most drama and films rely upon. The difference between having a plot and being plot driven is something most critics seem to not understand. Ozu simply removes the superfluous plot moments and adds contemplative, poetic, and metaphoric shots in their place, what are termed `pillow shots.' The emphasis is thus not on the driving, but the driver, of plot. After all, the tale of a parent who has a long lost child is not fresh, although the way it's told can be.
As for the films, the earlier one is actually the slightly better film, mostly because it's more concise- clocking in at 86 minutes vs. the two hour remake....In defense of the later film, it has more humor (one character from the troupe claims his name is Toshiro Mifune- the great star of so many Akira Kurosawa films; a nod to Ozu's rival), and the son's reaction to the news about his father seems a bit more mature and realistic than in the earlier film, while the mother seems more resigned to her lover's leaving, rather than being devastated- as in the earlier film....Another plus that the later film has is its use of color and symbolism, which is far more striking. The opening scene contrasts a lighthouse in the background with a foregrounded bottle. It is a stunning visual image, and such phallic symbols abound in the film, as bottles are repeatedly seen, and there is a scene where the local prostitutes tease the male troupe members as they suck on popsicles. We then see the lighthouse from other perspectives over the course of the film. The earlier film is not set at a seaside town, but in a rural area, and the scene of the father and son fishing is superior in the later film, for there is no oddly stylized synchronization of the pair tossing their fishing lines into the river, over and again, as in the 1934 film, and what the duo speak of- their views on the father's approach to acting, is far more cogent than in the silent version, whose major moment is when the father drops his wallet into the running water. The later version also mimetically puts the father and son in the position of the bottle in relation to the lighthouse at the film's opening. What this means, from a phallic perspective, is open to several interpretations. Another major difference between the two films is that the earlier film has more motion in it- literally. It was made before Ozu got caught in his tatami mat point of view mode, and therefore the emotion of the drama is recapitulated better in the earlier, more kinetic, film....Both A Story Of Floating Weeds and Floating Weeds are proof that not all obsessions result in negativity, a thing one might remind oneself of the next time someone speaks ill of that trait. They are also fine examples of what made Yasujiro Ozu a great artist, even if the art in them might fall just a bit shy of overall greatness. Viva obsesión!?
September 7, 2008

Twice the story

Two versions: must mean Ozu thought it good enough to revisit.

The first (1934) in black and white, is a little harsher in some ways. There's more humor in the lovely cinematically-rich color version. And, ultimately, more pathos. Truly, the '59 re-telling one of my favorites of all time! February 26, 2008

Ozu, side by side

This is a neat concept: two movies in one box (two DVDs) -- one is the director's own remake of the other. The 1934 silent (!) version called A STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS. And the 1959 color-rich version entitled simply FLOATING WEEDS.

I wasn't fond of either film. If you're not familiar with Ozu, he was a Japanese auteur with gentle sensibilities, creating stories that barely emerge out of ordinariness. These two films involve a traveling Kabuki troup who come to a town in which one of them has history. That's all I'll say about the plot.

However, I particularly want to recommend the film commentary by Roger Ebert. It accompanies the newer film FLOATING WEEDS, and it is full of valuable insight into Ozu's movie making techniques as well as his background.

The commentary for the silent film is by Donald Ritchie who seems to speak Japanese and seems to be very knowledgeable about Japanese films and culture.

I gave 3 stars to the films and added another for the commentaries.

Of Ozu films, I liked LATE SPRING a lot. Other people consider TOKYO STORY his masterpiece. Both are B&W. July 27, 2007

On Roger Ebert's top ten films of all time list!

The Criterion dvd does a great job and the transfer looks amazing. The movie is about a traveling group of actors who arrive in a small seaport town in south of Japan. The leader of the group Komajuro Arashi goes to visit his ex girlfriend and their son Kiyoshi, however kiyoshi believes Komajuro is his uncle. The lead actress Sumiko finds out he is visiting his ex and becomes jealous, in order to humiliate him she persuades a young actress in the group Kayo to seduce his son.
This movie plays like music, the actors are real with real emotions and even though it is in another country at another time anyone could identify with these characters.
The director Yasujiro Ozu has his own unique style unlike that of any movie i've seen. His camera does not follow the characters, each shot is like a painting that moves and breathes. Ozu also directed Tokyo story another in Roger Eberts great movie books and also on Time magazine's top 100 of all time, i haven't seen it but i will now and alot more of Ozu's work i'm sure.
A movie like this i really cant even explain why i love it, i just do, it's the type of movie that sticks with you and seeps into your subconcious. It's like you were there and actively experienced the movie, as if it became one of your own memories.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone that really loves film, not to someone that just watches to pass time or be temporarily entertained with special effects,(which i also enjoy at times) i'm glad i saw and continue to see movies like this in my late twenties if i saw this 10 years ago i wouldn't have got it or appreciated it. May 2, 2007

One half of perfection

This two-disc set from Criterion is another marvel - it presents one of Yasujiro Ozu's most beautifully composed color films along with a rarely-seen black & white silent Ozu film on which it was based. The pictures are amazingly sharp and Kazuo Miyagawa's cinematography, though carefully restricted by Ozu, is at last restored to its original greatness. Japanese directors used Agfacolor for their first color efforts, and the effects of age have caused them to fade into some surprising shades.

Despite this, one can be confident that one is looking at the very best possible transfer from the very finest print available. What one cannot, however, be confident of is the commentaries on both discs. I am thankful that Criterion is bringing out a new line of no-frills DVDs, including a volume of late Ozu masterpieces. For "Floating Weeds", however, Criterion made the unfortunate choice of Roger Ebert to provide a commentary. Since I have no stomach at all for Ebert, I had to pass on the commentary. Disc 2, however, features a quite welcome commentary by the foremost critic of Japanese film, Donald Richie.

I sincerely hope that Criterion uses better judgement in assigning commentaries in future. April 27, 2007

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