Amazon.com

Like any of Yasujiro Ozu's best-known films, Early Summer is a marvel of cinematic simplicity, revealing layers of depth through multiple viewings. It may seem at first that Ozu's family tale is too simple, but looks are deceiving, and closer study reveals an intensely structured, highly formalized example of Ozu's transcendental realism, focusing on the dilemma of 28-year-old Noriko (played by the immensely popular Setsuko Hara), whose late-breaking decision to marry sends unexpected shock waves through three generations of her close-knit family. While providing a vivid portrait of liberated womanhood in post-war Japan, this lighthearted yet quietly devastating drama also serves as a gentle study of tradition vs. modernity, and a clash between conformity and independence. It's also a triumph of DVD-as-film-school: As he did for Criterion's release of A Story of Floating Weeds, the distinguished scholar Donald Richie provides an eloquent full-length commentary as valuable as the film itself, thoroughly exploring the purpose of Ozu's low-angle style, the influence of Ernst Lubitsch, the importance of Setsuko as a role model for Japanese girls, stylistic comparison to Jane Austen's fiction, and a variety of other relevant topics. "Ozu's Films from Behind the Scenes" gathers three of Ozu's longtime collaborators for affectionate reminiscence, and mini-essays by Ozu expert David Bordwell and long-time Ozu admirer Jim Jarmusch lend further appreciation from critical and personal perspectives. This is Criterion's fifth Ozu release on DVD, and like the others, it's highly recommended. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"The Paradise of cinema"
Among all the at least 12 filmy by Ozu, Ilove very much, Bakushu is my favorite. It was always nonsens that Ozu made always the same film, but Bakushu has something special. At first its storytelling composed of anedotes and episodes. More than other films by Ozu, Bakushu seems to consists on a big number of HAIKUS (japanese short poems), one agter another. In all respect - there are very few like Ozu in the history of cinema. The decentralism of his storytelling can be found mostly in asian and especially japanese cinema. And the paradoxon of Bakushu is that its narrative style seems to be rather non-conventional for 1951 but on the other side, this film is Ozus most charming and most accessible film. Bakushi is exactly the "Paradise of Cinema" how Wim Wenders called the work of Ozu

A pleasant vignette - marriage and a woman's right to choose
The more Ozu films I watch, the more I fall in love with the simplicity and elegance of his storytelling. Like all his work, "Early Summer" ("Bakushu") is a beautiful snapshot of the human experience, in this case a 28-year old woman being pressured by her family to marry and balancing her own happiness with the happiness of those around her.

The tone of the film, like the weather in the title, is light and happy like a soft gentle early summer breeze. Whimsical and joyful, even while dealing with a potentially heavy subject.

Arranged marriages (O-Miyai) are still practiced in Japan today and were much more common when "Early Summer" was made in 1951. In the cases of women like Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who at 28 would be considered almost an old maid, if she hasn't found a love-match by now, it is best to arrange a marriage before she becomes too old for anyone to take her. However, Noriko is a modern woman, with ideas for her own happiness as her family will soon find out.

Ozu's simplicity is never boring, and Setsuko Hara is so completely charming that her smile can carry any story. "Early Summer" utilizes many of Ozu's principle actors, and Chishu Ryu is on hand as Noriko's older brother Koichi, although he would play her father two years later in "Tokyo Story."

Criterion's presentation of "Early Summer" is every bit the jewel you would expect it to be, with Ozu-expert Donald Richie supplying the commentary track, and a documentary called "Ozu Films from Behind-the-Scenes" detailing his working methods and camera techniques.

Classic Ozu Film
Early Summer is a variation on a seemingly perennial Ozu theme, namely, a family trying to arrange a marriage for a daughter and the daughter showing she has a mind of her own. The idea of an arranged marriage ("omiai" in Japanese) may seem strange to Western viewers. But they were quite common in Japan when this movie was made. The film centers around the character Noriko, played by Setsuko Hara (who interestingly was called the "eternal virgin" by her fans). Noriko is 28 and still single. Her boss finds a potential husband and her family gets all excited. But Noriko balks at the arranged marriage. What she eventually decides to do will likely surprise you. Keep in mind that Japan was in a period of transition when Early Summer was made. Many of the old ways, including arranged marriages, were being challenged by the younger generation.

What I enjoy most about watching this and other Ozu films is the focus on character rather than plot. We really get to know the people in this movie, as if they were members of our own family. Setsuko Hara gives an outstanding performance as the sweet but rebellious Noriko. This film is a good introduction to Ozu for people who've never seen any of his movies.

UPDATE: People who may have been hesitant to purchase this movie because it's only on VHS will be pleased to know that Criterion has acquired the rights to several Ozu classics, including Early Summer, Tokyo Story and Floating Weeds. According to a recent Criterion press release, the first DVD release of these titles is scheduled for the fall of 2003.

now my favorite
Ozu is a aquired taste to be sure. If you just open yourself to the quiet beauty of the film, you will be rewarded.

The "trancendent moment" here is the future mother-in-law arranging the marriage directly with Noriko. She regains her social position, makes her family whole, makes a mother for her grandaughter and a wife for her still greiving son, by breaking through the codes of politeness and indirectness.

It is a moment of modernity in a culture caught in-between. It is a moment of total change for perhaps a dozen people, but it is not a crisis or a catharsis - just the opposite.

Films do not have to Thrill and Manipulate (E.T. anyone?) to have a lasting profound effect on your life. Some great art is almost invisible......

Ozu in peak form
Early Summer is a classic Ozu piece, and will probably rank as one of his best works. A sensitively rendered portrait of an "old maid" under severe pressure from her family to get married, Setsuko Hara gives a heartbreaking performance in this beautiful, subtle, elegant and witty piece set in post-world war II Japan. Although the film does suffer from a few editing problems, it represents the world's greatest humanist director at the peak of his craft, producing a lovely, stirring, emotional drama. An absolute must for Ozu fans, and for all others, just check this one out (much cheaper than all the New Yorker Ozu videos)first to see what you are missing. Superb! ... Read more

Description

Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) follows an aging couple, Tomi and Sukichi, on their journey from their rural village to visit their two married children in bustling, post-war Tokyo. Their reception, however, is disappointing: too busy to entertain them, their children send them off to a health spa. After Tomi falls ill, she and Sukichi return home, while the children, grief-stricken, hasten to be with her. From a simple tale unfolds one of the greatest of all Japanese films. Starring Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, the film reprises one of the director's favorite themes—that of generational conflict—in a way that is quintessentially Japanese and yet so universal in its appeal that it continues to resonate as one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A Quiet masterpiece
This film was held back from international distribution for many years because it was thought to be too "Japanese". It's hard to imagine why.
The story is immediately engrossing and keeps you rivetted from start to finish. It's not Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, but a simple tale of an elderly couple travelling to Tokyo to see their children. What results is disappointment and resentment masked by plastic smiles , false pleasantries and rigid formality. The parents are disappointed in the children, and the children resent the parents. There are no intense moments of melodrama or intriguing plot twists to entertain the viewer. Worlds of pain and suffering are revealed through a few words here or there, or through subtle body language.

The film is beautifully photographed with a minimal amount of camera movement (if there is any at all), and is well preserved by Criterion. It may not be the best restoration ever, but it's superior to the infamous Ran transfers, and hardly noticeable when the film carries you away.

The entire cast is wonderful, varying from polite inoffensive formality of the elderly couple, the businesslike, obligatory courtesy of the children, and carefree lack of pretentiousness of the grandchildren. The characters are so realistic that you may be reminded of friends or family. Standing out are Chishu Ryu as the father and Setsuko Hara as the widow of Ryu's deceased son. Hara spends most of her film time bearing the most artificial and forced smiles, almost annoyingly, until the end with her scene with Ryu in which years of concealed heartbreak finally come to the surface. It is simple to the point of understatement, and quite memorable.

Ozu, one of the most neglected artists in the West, shows himself here to be one of the great directors of all time in this universal tale of deception and honesty. I'm not going to throw away Kurosawa, but I will let him set on the back-burner for a while so i can explore the new and soon to be released works of this Quiet Master of cinema.

So Real, You Can't Forget
Yasujiro Ozu had directed films from late 1920's to 1962. But he hit his stride with "Tokyo Story." Ozu movies are about the lower or middle classes, their interior lives in a very crowded and small country. This film has been ranked by various film organizations as one of the best ten movies ever made. It is a snapshot of the aspiring middle class of Japan in 1953. The war is fading and the post-war miracle is in the making. The young Japanese are striving and materialistic, but it should be said, they live in a very small world indeed. Their houses, even the house of the doctor-son is tiny and everyone sits on the floor, there are no chairs. The elderly parents representing the old Japan visit their two sons and daughter in a rebuilding, industrialized Tokyo. The parents are not welcomed warmly, but are shuttled off to a resort. Only the daughter-in-law welcomes them. Her husband had been killed in the war and she honors his memory by honoring her in-laws. Then the mother dies and the kids go to the funeral and then get back to work. All the scenes of family life take place in tiny interiors where there are for example, close up shots of two kimonoed women talking intimately with much politeness. The exterior shots contrast an industrial world of smokestacks with the beauty of the Japanese mountains and seacoast. The camera angles are very precise. The actors are unbelievably good. If you are looking for plot, you won't find much here, but you will find a studied slice of life. This movie is long and in black and white. It does not move quickly and you must stay with it to take in something different.

A graceful, subtle, powerful film from Ozu
I have only recently begun exploring some of the works of the eminent Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, and while I was able to appreciate the greatness of FLOATING WEEDS, it is his TOKYO STORY that I will remember more. Plotwise, Ozu offers more a scenario than an actual story: two elderly parents go to Tokyo to visit their children, who do not necessarily welcome them warmly. From that simple scenario, though, Ozu creates scenes that say so little and yet say so much about familial relations. That is the power of his minimalist style: a lot is left unsaid among the characters, but many things are implied, and of course it is left to the viewer to pick up on the implications and perhaps reflect on them. (The parents' children, for example, all feel exasperation at what they see as their burden when their parents arrive, but only Noriko, the widow of one of their dead sons, is truly nice to them. Obviously that says something about the others...)

Watching TOKYO STORY, I felt like I was in the presence of a wise old man who I felt could teach me, in his own silent way, a lot of things about life, especially when I eventually grow up (I am only eighteen myself) and perhaps run into these same situations that Ozu illustrates in this film. Perhaps people might react differently to this film---older people might identify with the situations, while younger ones might react in a more objective but fascinated manner. Either way, I don't think anyone who chances upon this wonderful film will not be moved in some way. What you see with every shot and every image in TOKYO STORY is life---plain and simple. It's so realistic it's haunting.

Are you kind to your parents?
Like many of Ozu's films, "Tokyo Story" ("Tokyo Monogatari") examines a very simple stage in life, one that I hope most of us will be lucky enough to encounter at some time or another. In this case, it is how we treat our parents once we no longer need them for survival. Are they a bother? Do we resent their old-fashioned ways and slower pace? Are we perhaps a bit too eager to shuffle them to the sidelines?

The story seems so simple, an elderly couple leaves the country to visit their children who have moved away to Tokyo. Country folk meet city folk, age meets youth, life meets death. There are no big blow-ups, no crisis points reached or contrived dramas, just life flowing along as it does. In Ozu's gentle hands, the entire story is told between the lines, with perhaps not a single sentence of direct dialog spoken in the film. Under the calm surface is an ocean of depth, emotions flowing with an unstoppable power, yet never able to breach the veneer of etiquette and politeness.

Ozu's usual cast in at their best. Chishu Ryu plays the father perfectly, flawed and kind, strict in his youth yet lenient in his old age, he is a father-figure more than a father to his impatient children. Chieko Higashiyama plays the kind and appreciative mother, much the same character as in "Early Summer." As always, Setsuko Hara, Japan's "Eternal Virgin," brings light and love into an otherwise dismal story playing Noriko, the widowed Daughter-in-law of Ryu and Higashiyama's son. Setsuko is ironically the only one of their children to appreciate the aged parents, even though she is not a blood-child.

"Tokyo Story" forced me to examine my own treatment of my parents, and consider how I will be treated when it is my time to visit my children. Will they dread my coming? Am I kind to my parents? That is the kind of power this film has.

Of course, the Criterion Collection presentation is wonderful, with one of the best transfers of "Tokyo Story" I have seen. It is far from flawless, but vastly superior to my old VHS copy. The extra documentaries are delightful, and offer some insight into Ozu that in turn offers insight into his wonderful films.

Great Disc, Brilliant Audio Commentary
David Desser's illuminating audio commentary opens the film up in new ways, allowing the viewer to understand Ozu's deceptively simple style with greater depth and appreciation. Demonstrating Ozu's mastery with imagery and in scene after scene, Dessler describes how Ozu builds subtle dimensions of emotional and thematic subtext using camera placement, movement and editing of shots. What may seems rather ordinary at first sudddenly becomes breathtaking and you'll marvel at Ozu's sheer economy of storytelling. Truly, Tokyo Story is a thing of beauty and this disc will show you why. One of Criterion's finest disc sets, and that's saying alot. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Providing a unique opportunity for the appreciation of Yasujiro Ozu's signature style, Criterion's definitive double-feature of A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) and Floating Weeds (1959) demonstrates the evolution of a master. Drawing inspiration from the now-obscure 1928 American carnival-troupe drama The Barker, Ozu first made A Story of Floating Weeds as a silent film (despite the advent of sound by that time), and Criterion's DVD features a sublime, newly recorded original score that sounds and feels like it's been part of the film all along. The film itself concerns a traveling Kabuki troupe faced with dramatic revelations as they perform in a rural village: Their master has had a son from a former lover whom he is visiting for the first time in a dozen years. Unaware of his parentage, the now-grown son thinks the visitor is his rarely seen uncle, and the master's mistress, upon discovering her lover's secret family, plots to undermine their relationship by urging a young actress to seduce the son, knowing that this would enrage the master's discreet familial pride. By story's end, all of these central relationships will undergo deep and resonant change.

Ozu was justifiably proud of this meticulous character study, in which his celebrated low-angle style began to assert itself. A quarter-century later, he remade the film as Floating Weeds, retaining the same story and characters, switching the setting to a seaside town, and demonstrating a more casual acceptance of human foibles that makes the 1959 version (Ozu's first film in color) relatively calm and compassionate when contrasted with the more turbulent tone of the '34 silent. Having grown as an artist, Ozu was at his stylistic peak here, having refined his style to the point where all camera movement had given way to flawless refinement of static compositions. These and other comparisons abound in the study of original and remake; to that end, commentaries by preeminent Japanese film expert and dialogue translator Donald Richie (on the '34 film) and film critic Roger Ebert (on Floating Weeds) provide astutely thorough appreciations of the parallel structures, stylistic evolution, and cultural specifics of films that, until the early 1970's, were considered "too Japanese" for an international audience. Never dry or pretentious, their scholarly analyses lend solid, sensitive context to the enjoyment of two of Ozu's most critically and commercially successful films. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (3)

TIMELESS MASTERPIECE
Sublime heroism in small gestures and difficult moral decisions infuses Yasujiro Ozu's 1959 masterpiece, FLOATING WEEDS (Criterion).

An aging Kabuki actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his old lover and illegitimate son, an act that enrages the actor's current mistress. In some ways, the story is the flip side of the Prodigal Son parable. Here, a bad dad returns to save his son from the temptations of the corrupt world.

This great humanistic film transcends the time and place of its story. I especially enjoyed Roger Ebert's highly informed commentary. Highest recommendation.

Note: The loaded double disc also includes the original 1934 silent version of Ozu's film with an extraordinary new score by noted silent film composer Donald Sosin.

I loved loved loved this movie!
If you only buy one Japanese film to add to your DVD collection, let it be an Ozu film and "Floating Weeds" is a wonderful place to start. There's really nothing I can say that isn't absolutely praiseworthy about Ozu and this film. It truly is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

The Criterion Collection DVD is also a masterpiece, giving us both the original silent "Story of Floating Weeds" and the 1959 remake "Floating Weeds", (both directed by Ozu). The mastering is done well, the sound is great, and the voice-over commentary by famed Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times is a delightful surprise. Ebert humbly acknowledges that there are better Japanese film & culture experts out there, but "does his best" to give a very thorough description of Ozu's very unique style. Needless to say, it's one of the better and more informative commentaries I've heard and Mister Ebert is modest.

The story is genuine, sweet, simple, and believable. The characters are solid and have great depth. Ozu keeps the action and emotions to a realistic level without resorting to over-acting in any of his films. They almost don't feel like films in this way, but feel like intrusions into other peoples lives, but politely so.

Many people have speculated as to Ozu's curious method of placing his camera just below the eye-level of his actors onscreen, and I have my own theory. Perhaps Mr Ozu also has the innocence of children in mind, and is trying to see the world unbiasedly and naively like a child might - from the aproximate eye-level of a child viewing the events happening in the same room as he or she? It's an idea anyway. Perhaps also Ozu wants the camera to look up to his characters as if it is respectfully just below them submissively, as if it is bowing to them all in respect? It's difficult to say for certain, but the look is unique in all of film and once it hooks you, you're hooked for life! You have been warned.

After this wonderful classic, I recommend Ozu's "Tokyo Story" from 1953 (also recently released by the Criterion Collection). Ozu is a great film master and no one could compose a shot like he in all film history. If you haven't, you must see an Ozu film at least once in your lifetime!

Unbelievable! Now on DVD!
Having seen almost all Ozu films extant,including some of his earliest short silents, I recommend this as one of his supreme accomplishments. Yes, it is off his regular beaten path. His first color film and a somewhat overworked plot, but that is not what you go to an Ozu film for. For some reason this is the only one of his films that I never fail to cry at the start of. I get swept away into another simple and sublime day-to-day world. After seeing it in public once, two women seated behind me said "What was that all about?" Just life, just life. ... Read more

Amazon.com

By the time he made Good Morning in 1959, Yasujiro Ozuhad completely eliminated camera movement from his uniquely simple butelegant directorial style. He chose instead to emphasize static butmeticulously purposeful compositions that rarely, if ever, wavered fromtheir recognizable low-angle perspective. In Good Morning, thisobservational approach is put to sublime use to establish setting (a late-'50s Tokyo suburb) and to view the world through the eyes of thefilm's central characters—-two young brothers who take a mutual vow ofsilence to protest their parents' refusal to buy a TV set. Their father claims that television will create "a million idiots," while theirmother is angered by the boys' neglect of schoolwork in favor ofwatching sumo wrestling on a neighbor's TV.

In Ozu's hands, this sublimely simple conflict inspires a comedic exploration of Japan at the dawn of its electronic age, whenconsumerism and materialism are in vogue, salesmen solicit their waresin constant door-to-door visits, and even the purchase of a washingmachine can prompt neighbors into a frenzy of gossipy speculation.Funniest of all are the conspiratorial brothers, who play an amusingvariation of "pull my finger" (proving that even great directors canindulge a fart joke if they choose), and employ their silent strategywith the stubbornness that only children can get away with. Through itall, Ozu develops a handful of intermingling themes of love,communication, goodwill, and the changing of societal traditions.Utterly simple on the surface, Good Morning reveals itscomplexity in careful proportion, with the affectionate humanity thatwas Ozu's greatest gift. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Japanese comedy comes the US
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film is probably the first Japanese comedy that was released in the US. It is also filmed in color which was rare for Japanese films at the time.

It is a remake of an earlier film by the same director Yasujiro Ozu titled "I was born but..." (Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo) The Japanese title for this film is "Ohayo".

This film is about two brothers in suburban Japan who want their parents to buy them a TV set. When their father refuses and complains that they talk too much, the brothers give everybody the silent treatment. Their "vow of silence" causes many troubles at home and at school.

The film also has some humor that would never have been shown on American TV at the time but is now even found in kid's films. The two brothers repeatedly ingest ground pumice stone because it gives them gas. The flatulence humor in this film (the sound effects are definately fake though) may have been responsible for the film to not be shown in the US until the early 60's.

It still is a great film made just as Japanese society was "westernizing" and could even be said that it was an answer to the American sitcoms of the time such as "Leave it to Beaver", "Father Knows Best" or "Dennis the Menace" (minus the intestinal gas expulsions of course!)

The DVD has no special features.

Excellent
There is nothing 'minor' or 'little' about this movie; it is thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying. Very good print quality. The more Ozu available on DVD (especially if released by Criterion), the better.

Carefree Childhood
This film describes the heroic battle that two little boys fight against their father who refused to buy them a television set. It demonstrates that persistence pays off, no matter how fierce the resistance.

Minoru Hayashi(about 12) and his little brother Isamu (about 6) live together with their parents in a little house. Impossible to keep one's privacy in this settlement. Nothing remains unobserved, everybody knows who went where and who bought what. The gossip blossoms and the phantasy of the housewives is lively. The biggest telltale is irritable and touchy Mrs. Haragushi: What has become of the dues for the women's club? Does Mrs. Hayashi suspect her of having bought her new washing-machine with the (embezzled) fees? When Mrs. Haragushi's mother reveals that she simply forgot about the receipt, her daughter takes it out on this poor old woman. She shoud go to a home for the aged, because "old people belong there". How unfair, since she needs her mother's pension...There is also Mr. Tomizawa. He worked for 30 years in wind and rain and now his pension is barely enough not to starve. He is desperate and drinks...There is also the "scandalous" family: the Maroyamas. They are slovenly and SHE has even been seen in a bar...But their household is the most popular with kids, because they have a television set. No matter how often their parents admonish them to make their homework, the boys always sneak away...

Minoru and Isamu find their life so tedious that they howl. Their father thinks that tv turns people into imbeciles; His sons think that he is just stingy and mean. When he orders them to shut up Minoru protests: What HE has to say is just as important as all those "empty phrases" adults use: good morning, how are you, etc...He calls for a speaking strike - if necessary for 100 days. Minoru and Isamu remain persisent: They make no reply when their pretty young aunt offers them cookies. Nervy to watch their parents eat those cookies and make remarks about the "wonderful silence"...Next morning they forget to greet Mrs. Haragushi who spreads the news that Mrs. Hayashi is so "revengeful". Mrs. Hayashi is astonished to get back everything she borrowed her neighbors: the bottle of beer, the bus-ticket, the fish that a neighbor's cat has stolen...The boys keep their silence during classes, and since their parents cannot understand their pantomime, they owe the school their board. Mr. Tomizawa finds a new job at last: He sells electrical appliances. Mr. Hayashi wants to help him and decides to buy his wife her long-desired washing-machine. She reminds him that his own retirement age is near - a thought he tries to repress...

Two little boys chatter happily and behave well. Their question "Will the tv be connected when we come back from school?" sounds like an order. Their father tries to make a serious face: "I hope you will work harder now" - but he can't stifle a smile...

For many decades Ozu's films were overshadowed by Kurosawa's dazzling epics that took western audiences by storm. Ozu's films were considered "too japanese": plain fare, too simple for fastidious western tastes. Only recently critics learned to appreciate their qualities. The destiny of unassuming, often humble people who tempt providence strikes the right chord - at least with me. "Typically japanese" is probably the mix of politeness and scatological humor: a little boy is not "home-trained" - the last shot shows three shorts on a clothes-line. Some scenes are very clever: a peddler and an agent for alarm-systems work hand in hand. The peddler bothers housewives ("Did he threaten you?" "Yes. He forced me to buy an expensive pencil"), then the agent calls...A running gag (The boys drink pumice-stone dissolved in water(!)) becomes life-threatening: the mother suspects rats and decides to rub the stone with poison...The performances are wonderful. Chishu Ryu is one of my favorite actors, but the actress who plays Mrs. Haragushi's mother is grandiose.

Entertaining ca. 1960 Japanese Working Class Story
This quiet little film, set in working class Japan ca. 1960, focuses on the community's children and the way they are drawn to western entertainment, i.e. television, wrestling, etc. Parents are more concerned with getting from month to month, glad to have a job, fearing financial difficulties in their old age. One neighbor's purchase of a washing machine creates mumbling among the rest of them; How could they afford this?

A side plot has one woman turn a misunderstanding into vicious rumors about a neighbor. The fact that the neighbor's children are conducting a "silence strike" only fuels the gossip.

Although visibly produced on a minimal budget, the quiet feeling of being told a bed time story is mezmerizing. The insight into the social conventions of the time and place are at times very touching. I can recommend this film particularly to students/teachers in the fields of Sociology or History. A simple film, but not without the sparcle of a little gem!****

Low-Budget, Pleasant Comedy Drama
Working Class Japanese families ca. 1960 dealing with idle gossip, the difficulties of parenthood, and "competing with the Jones'" when it comes to modern gadgets like washing machines and TV set.

The main focus is on a misunderstanding involving misplaced Union dues and the mean-spirited gossip resulting from an honest mistake. A side-plot has two little boys enter a pact of silence in protest that their parents are "too cheap" to buy a TV set, so they need not watch Wrestling and Baseball at their neighbors house. Will their "strike" pay off?

This is a simple film about simple situations in working people's homes. Given the times, the daily struggle for survival and a few modern comforts are the center of each day's discussions. To think about one's retirement is discussed among people in their prime. The much used greetings (thus the title) and constant small talk are explained as a necessary means to achieve greater things. To sell a product, or to initiate friendliness with a prospective marriage partner.

A visibly low budget, absolutely no cinematic frills and a minimal number of actors, none-the-less give the viewer a pleasant excoursion into the life of hard working people in a given place and time. The film makes you smile, laugh out loud, and it also includes moments that may tuck at your heart strings. No classic or epic, yet a very pleasant little film to bring you joy.**** ... Read more