Bakushû

I had seen Tokyo Story and respected it. But Early Summer is a charming, poignant and very human movie that stands the test of time. It is the story of Noriko, a 28-year-old administrative assistant who is under pressure from her family to marry. To put this in perspective, in traditional Japan, a woman married by age 25, or she was considered a "Christmas cake "-- nobody wanted it after the 25th! It is not as common in Japan now for women to face such pressure, especially since so many Japanese women are choosing to stay single, now that they have the money to be independent. However, Noriko's case would have been common up until the current generation of women.

While the war is not a character in the movie, there are threads that connect Early Summer to World War II. The movie takes place in 1951, just before Japan emerged from the U.S. occupation, and before Japanese society had its great explosion of wealth in the 1960s. It is a snapshot of a time that no longer exists, although the family conflicts are universal. I plan to add Early Summer to my list of top movies and look forward to viewing it again.

Ozu's "Early Summer" is a delightful movie to watch, pleasant and light in its story, yet thoughtful and sensitive in a good many respects. It is also a triumph for Ozu's simple-looking but carefully conceived style of film-making, and the material in the story parallels the style in a natural but satisfying manner.

So many of Ozu's movies portray the distinctive characteristics of the Japan of his day, and yet do so in a way that make the characters and their situations seem almost universal. By focusing so much of the running time on repeated daily routines, even the habits and customs unique to its own society become points of identification, since routines are routines, regardless of how they might differ from one time and place to another.

Here, the family relationships among the central characters are fleshed out carefully, so as to create many possibilities in the interactions between the various generations. There is significant screen time given to many different characters, and all of them are worth getting to know. Noriko (Setsuko Hara) is the main character, in that she ties together her family with the characters outside of it, and as the movie proceeds, it is her life that gradually becomes the main focus. Ozu's presentation of the preoccupation that the other characters have with Noriko's unmarried status is both believable and perceptive. Hara is very endearing in the role, and she does very well in portraying her relationships with and her reactions to the other characters.

Given that Ozu deliberately makes very sparing use of camera movement and similar techniques, in favor of simple but carefully composed settings that emphasize the characters themselves, there is a nice parallel in the way that the story proceeds and the main questions are resolved. The characters' heartfelt decisions are shown to be more worthwhile than meticulous arrangements. As tends to happen with his films, a pleasing pattern with a ring of truth to it emerges, almost unexpectedly. It's enjoyable to watch, and an admirable display of cinematic skill.

I am writing this minutes after I finished watching this lovely 1951 film on video, "Bakushu" ("Early Summer"). It is my first introduction to the work of Yasujiro Ozu, who directed and co-wrote the film. Ozu (b.1903, d.1963), who directed over 50 films from the 1920s-1960s, is probably most famous for his film "Tokyo Monogatari" ("Tokyo Story") of 1953, which is cited by some film critics as one of the ten best films made.

"Early Summer" is the second of three films in which Setsuko Hara plays an unmarried young woman, aged 28 in "Bakushu", named Noriko (also in Ozu's 1949 "Banshun" or "Late Spring", and in "Tokyo Story"). Her always beaming and confident smile, mischievous but loving laughter, and unselfish and loving manner are a constant joy to experience - she's the kind of person anybody would love to have as a friend. Noriko lives in post-WW II Tokyo as part of an extended family of her parents along her somewhat stern brother (a doctor) and his warm wife and their two spoiled young sons, aged approximately 3 and 6. The family partially depends on her income as an office clerk of sorts.

The central theme is the family's concern that carefree Noriko is unmarried. A proposal comes in from a man twelve years her senior; the family feels this is a great opportunity that they hope she will respond positively to. How she takes all this in stride and works through the gentle pressure of getting married is the plot of the film, but the understated, low-key and low-angle camera shots make what might otherwise be an unexceptional story sweetly captivating and delightful.

I am reminded in this film of my favorite director, Satyajit Ray. Like Ray, at least in "Bakushu", Ozu very effectively uses minimal dialogue, little or no music, and subtlety to draw the viewer into the setting and paint a realistic picture of everyday life.

I felt instant connection with Setsuko Hara as vivacious and indomitable Noriko. Her brother, Koichi (Chishu Ryu) was impeneterably unemotional, probably stereotypically so. Koichi's wife, Aya Tamura (Chikage Awashima) seemed a tamer version of Noriko, almost like an older sister from the same roots. The parents Shukichi Mamiya (Ichiro Sugai) and his wife Shige (Chieko Higashiyama) were realistically portrayed as being content in fulfilling their familial responsibilities, and provided an even emotional keel.

If this is at all typical of Yasujiro Ozu's films, then I am anxious to seek out and start to enjoy his many other creations. The film moves at life's pace, but Ozu transforms what might be a moderately interesting peek into one family's life into a rich and delightful tapestry.

--Dilip Barman Sept. 21, 2003

"Early summer" maybe the most unknown of the "Noriko trilogy" ("Late spring" (1949), "Early summer" (1951) and "Tokyo story" (1953)), it is however certainly worthwile.

The films of Ozu are all about family relations. In the Noriko trilogy they are all about Noriko, a single (never married or widow) woman in her late twenties played by Setsuko Hara (in "Tokyo story" however the parents in law of Noriko also play at least an equally important part).

An important question in the Noriko trilogy is if and with whom Noriko ought to marry. The pre war idea that the upbringing of a girl ends with her marriage when the responsibility transfers from the parents to the husband clashes with the post war idea of the individual freedom of the young woman.

We see this clash not only in the story line but also in the set pieces (very important in an Ozu movie because he works with a static camera). We see the old father meditating in a traditional Japanese house. In another scene we see Noriko dining with some of her friends (some married and others still single) in a very modern restaurant (that almost looks '70s style to me).

I did not know much about Yasujiro Ozu's films prior to seeing Early Summer. I knew he was as big an influence in the West as Akira Kurosawa. It is not difficult to understand Kurosawa's influence since his films were largely influenced by John Ford and his stories were occasionally based on Shakespeare. Ozu, seems to take a quiet and simple approach to the cinematic experience.

"Early Summer" is about a time when families extend and break apart. We are introduced to the Mamiya family, a typical family of 1950's post war Japan, who we see going about their daily life routines. The protagonist is the daughter Noriko, a 28 year old girl whose parents believe is ready to get married. One day, Noriko is recommended a man Takako, who is an associate of her boss. Noriko considers the offer but does not spark much interest. Her parents try to encourage her daughter to marry this man but after learning that Takako is much older, Noriko becomes even more reluctant. One day, their close neighbor Kenkichi, has been offered a job outside of Tokyo and has decided to leave. It is Kenkichi who Noriko suddenly decides to marry. The Mamiya family becomes upset because Kenkichi is not only moving away from home but he is also a widower with a child. The parents soon realize that they will have to accept and nothing will be the same again. The story has a somewhat similar structure to a documentary in that we sometimes feel as though we are witnessing real life as it happens. Much of what occurs throughout the film is not directly connected to the story. There is no surprise or ironic conclusion. Everything seems inevitable and there is no major surprises or conclusions. "Early Summer" helps us think about the essence of selfishness in the Japanese nuclear family. It is uncommon for Japanese families to leave the family because independence is looked down upon. At the same time, it is inevitable that things change for better or for worse. There is a wonderful scene with the grandparents contemplating on Noriko and their lives. "Things couldn't be better" says the grandfather. "Well they could" says the grandmother. The grandfather replies,"please, we must not expect too much from life" This seems to be an important awareness of the film and one that exists between the Mamiya family. Noriko accepts who she's in love with not because she seeked him out but because it occurred when she least expected. She tries to read into her future and accepts that marriage will be difficult. There is another wonderful moment after she has accepted Kenkichi's mother to marry her son, she is seen walking home and passes by her soon to be husband. Their exchange is very subtle and brief and yet we know they are going to spend the rest of their lives together. This scene is presented in an ironic way that helps us to pay close attention to the mundaneness of our lives. These are the moments that help us see the world in better light. Ozu has a great eye for timing, atmosphere and above all, humor. There is nothing pretentious about this film. It is an examination of family unity and the passing transition of marriage.