In his 40 years of films, Ozu had been sticking to his own approach without any attempt for change or innovation. He was just devoted to shooting about ordinary people and daily stories. Different from those remarkable Japanese directors in the world cinema such as Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi, Ozu only had his influence limited to Japan. In his last days, someone from Japanese film circles even criticized him to be outdated. However, this year is totally a Year of Ozu. In commemoration of the 110th anniversary of his birth, Sochiku Film Company specially restored a large series of his works such as Tokyo Story, Equinox Flower and An Autumn Afternoon, all of which were staged in film festivals at Berlin, Cannes and Venice in succession. The latest Shanghai Film Festival held a special Yasujiro Ozu Film Show to pay their tribute. 

 “This year is the 50th anniversary of Ozu’s pass-away, which means that all his films are stories happening half a century ago. However, I found a very strange phenomenon that the longer it is the more people will like Ozu and miss him, especially when those viewers gain some experience, they will know more about Ozu. Why does it happen? In my opinion, Ozu’s films are indicating all the basic elements in human nature and therefore we still have the same sympathy with this old director.” Zhi An, a famous scholar confessed. Lately, the Mandarin version of Ozu’s informal essay collection titled “From Tofu Store, I can only Cook Tofu” was officially published, and through these words we can understand how Ozu cooked a successful pot of Tofu in films. 

Anecdote about Tofu and Curry Rice 

“It happened not because of my excellent brain or talent recognition. It was for the sake of a bowl of curry rice.” Ozu joked when talking about the beginning of his film career. At the age of 24, Ozu was admitted into Sochiku as he wished and his first title was the assistant director under Tadamoto Okubo. One day when shooting was carried on very late, Ozu was exhausted and starving when shooting came to an end. However, when he rushed to the canteen, he found that the hot curry rice must be distributed from the other end of table in sequence. When it was his turn, someone just gave it to another director who just dropped in. Angrily, Ozu shouted “In Sequence”, while the guy only said “ Move to back, little assistant!”. Ozu wanted to have a fight, but he was prevented by others. Ozu kept on shouting “In Sequence.” and “Give me mine”. Finally, he got a full plate of curry rice, and this story about curry rice was known to all. At this interesting news, the then head of film studio Shiro Kido commented, “This young man is interesting. Just give him a film for a try.” Then Ozu had his premier production Blade of Confession. 

For a while, many people recommended Ozu to try out some novel themes, and he invariably answered in resolution, “I can only run a Tofu store. If I turn to cook curry rice or fried pork steak, it would be by no means delicious”. Such a stubborn character in such a clear statement is Ozu’s own principle that he would never change till death. As far as Zhi An is concerned, it is the very merit that Ozu is blessed with. “Only with this domineering persistence could he master his favorite theme, shooting approach, collaborative partner and even the props repeatedly occurring in the screen.” he commented. 

Not wanting or daring to focus too much on the outside world, Ozu made a little mini-universe on his own in light and shadow. Thus among galaxy of film directors at the global level, Ozu might be the one with most misunderstanding. Some critics in his favor might not really understand his value or just with superficial enjoyment failed to read him through. Compared with many works in research of Ozu’s films, his own words seem to be more accurate with facts narration without reasoning. Just take “Low Camera Shooting” as example people often quote for Ozu’s recognition, he explained as follows: “At that time, we have so few lamps, so lamps must be moved in and out at each scene. After shooting in two or three scenes, wires were everywhere on the floor. As it took time and trouble to tidy up for a new scene, I just leaned the camera upwards to avoid the floor. The picture seemed to be OK and it really saved time.” At these words, those loyal fans of Ozu might be shocked. “ As far as I can see, his seemingly modest comments are filled with his serene self-confidence. In Ozu’s films, you can find that the camera man took sitting position on Tatami and the most frequent scene is having meals. People in the film just talk some random topics and even rubbish while eating. Nevertheless, with clear outline of story and precise molding of characters, a perfect drama was created. So long as the viewers have memory, they will admire the excellent technique of this exceptional director.” Shi Hang, a famous Chinese screenplay commented. 

Aftertaste Still Fresh over the Time 

 “In face of camera, the basic idea in my mind is to find back the abundant love for mankind through deep thinking. What I will consider over and again is just how to present the love in my film in a perfect way.” Whenever talking about his ideal for films, Ozu only focused on the aftertaste. 

After watching Tokyo Story a second time, Shi Hang shared the same opinion. “In this film, that elderly couple who went all the way to see their children at Tokyo were dreaming for what was doomed to vanish. Though their children had their own families, the elderly couple still fancied their affection in the past. When their dream was ruined, the mother died and the father was totally trapped in loneliness. It is urbanization that has torn our family apart. When we were in our home town to live a back-to-back life, we could feel their temperature. Since we left home town, we only lived with our backs to wall. After a long stay in urban areas, we are no longer used to living in our home town. 

In Zhi An’s opinion, whether Tokyo Story or Late Spring and Early Summer, whether the following Equinox Flower, Late Autumn and An Autumn Afternoon, Ozu constantly care about the relationship between parents and their children, and Ozu stuck to this relationship to describe the so-called “abundant love of mankind”. 

 “As to Late Spring and An Autumn Afternnon, the plots of the two films are quite similar, a story of a widowed father facing his daughter’s marriage. Chishu Ryu played both the Father in two films and the characters are similar. At the beginning, I couldn’t understand why this director would like to tell a similar plot twice. However, by contrast, we could see Ozu’s subtle mastery. In the two films, the role of daughter was played respectively by Setsuko Hara and Shima Iwashita. Setsuko Hara expressed her reluctance to leave her father in soft emotions while Shima Iwashita hardly expressed above emotions. Considering the time distance of more than a decade, we can say that in Late Spring, the two generations cherish their affection while in An Autumn Afternoon only the elder generation still preserved the similar affection. When Father came to a pub from his daughter’s wedding, he was asked “Where are you from today? a funeral? ” Father answered, “En, you can say that.” Never giving any lessons in morality, Ozu just calmly told a story about a little family, in which we can obviously feel the inconstant affairs of the world. What Ozu desire to convey will be echoed without barrier by the audiences of varied times, which was, I think, the lasting charm of Ozu’s films. 

Wim Wenders, a German famous director once said, “ If we can define film and explain why film was invented, I will say ‘to produce a film like that by Ozu.’” In 1985, he went to Japan to shoot a documentary titled Looking for Ozu, and later dedicate this film to his parents and younger brother. “The family in Ozu’s films represents all the families in the world. It is a serene home town for heart of everyone. From his films, everyone will find himself or herself.” Wim said.