Kohayagawa ke no aki / The End Of Summer (1961) :
Brief Review -
Same old Ozu trick with the only innovation that Wedding and Funeral are brought together for the first time. The End Of Summer has more characteristics than any other Ozu film and is also more angular. The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth. It was obvious to see not a single character getting proper attention cause the quantity was high and the screen space was less. May be if you look from the other side, it seems more fun to see so many characters are brought together with simple and small small problems of their lives because the ultimate goal of it was to connect it to our lives. Like all other Ozu Films this one has kindness and amusing narrative with the climax being quite linked to horrible fact like Death. We don't see this often that two completely opposite sides Wedding and Funeral are mixed together in one narrative and so quickly. Ozu had this master trick gone fine irrespective of how ridiculous it may look at the first time, it gradually becomes intelligent later. The last scene where he has used the reference of Smoke coming out up there from Crematorium was so damn good. Talking about the acting, all the artists are in fine form throughout the film with exceptional varieties. Background score, screenplay, cinematography, dialogues are nice. I would have loved to see little more aggression in the script though. Ozu could have melted emotions better like he did with earlier Classics and then The End Of Summer would have became a non-problematic film. Nevertheless, Yasujiro Ozu has made it on his own par level with his masterful skills and those who love and understand his films can't deny this fact, no matter how hard you try.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest
Same old Ozu trick with the only innovation that Wedding and Funeral are brought together for the first time. The End Of Summer has more characteristics than any other Ozu film and is also more angular. The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth. It was obvious to see not a single character getting proper attention cause the quantity was high and the screen space was less. May be if you look from the other side, it seems more fun to see so many characters are brought together with simple and small small problems of their lives because the ultimate goal of it was to connect it to our lives. Like all other Ozu Films this one has kindness and amusing narrative with the climax being quite linked to horrible fact like Death. We don't see this often that two completely opposite sides Wedding and Funeral are mixed together in one narrative and so quickly. Ozu had this master trick gone fine irrespective of how ridiculous it may look at the first time, it gradually becomes intelligent later. The last scene where he has used the reference of Smoke coming out up there from Crematorium was so damn good. Talking about the acting, all the artists are in fine form throughout the film with exceptional varieties. Background score, screenplay, cinematography, dialogues are nice. I would have loved to see little more aggression in the script though. Ozu could have melted emotions better like he did with earlier Classics and then The End Of Summer would have became a non-problematic film. Nevertheless, Yasujiro Ozu has made it on his own par level with his masterful skills and those who love and understand his films can't deny this fact, no matter how hard you try.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest