Customer Reviews

Good Morning (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a study in layers of meaning, layers so fine they are almost transparent. On the surface this is a comedy of misunderstandings, stereotypes, and intergenerational conflict. Below that this is a photographer's film. I think the color is intentional - Ozu used agfa stock which had a slightly unreal quality to it. Each shot is carefully composed, and once you're into it, quite beautiful. Below that, the running comment is how language is as important to life as passing gas. Even deeper, life is changing quickly - the economy is changing right under the parents' noses - beatniks, salesmen, American electronics, unemployment, forced retirement. Pretty heavy stuff for a scatalogical comedy. Finally, optomistically even, Ozu suggests that for love, language is relatively unimportant, and action is the real substance of character - be it helping a friend start over, smiling while being a stern father, or choosing to ride the train with a potential mate, even if you can't afford to marry. A comedy that is high art - with fart jokes - how can you go wrong?

Flatulence seems to be an odd way of lending a framework to a film, but leave it to filmmaking master Yasujiro Ozu to use it as a metaphor for the meaninglessness of "small talk" between people who cannot be candid with one another. The title of this 1959 movie, "Ohayō (Good Morning)", is indeed the salutation but also from Ozu's perspective, a symbolic expression of how the Japanese avoid confrontation and put a strong value on etiquette. One of Ozu's late period color films, this is a very cute comedy which on the surface, seems like an extended episode of "Leave It to Beaver" especially in exhibiting the speedy Americanization of Japan since WWII. Even the color palette seems to evoke the muted McCarthy-era colors of the Universal comedies release around the same time. What remains consistent are Ozu's signature visual compositions - the use of the hillside to place the horizon in the middle of the frame, the use of silhouettes against the hillside, the movement of figures darting between the identical homes.

Set in a shoebox-tight housing community in Tokyo, the plot seamlessly interweaves the activities of five households - four of the more traditional variety and the fifth, a young beatnik couple who has the prized possession of the neighborhood, a TV set, which draws all the children in like clockwork after school. In the meantime, the housewives discover their association dues are missing and in "Peyton Place"-style, rumors swirl that the culprit is the woman who just bought a washing machine. Further subplots involve an unemployed English teacher, who can only speak banalities to the woman he loves; an older unemployed man who habitually gets drunk at the local bar and can't find his own home since they all look alike; and the funniest about two young brothers, the older particularly obstreperous in furiously sharing his all-too-perceptive observations of the adults - and practicing a strike of silence when their parents refuse to buy a TV set. Of course, that doesn't prevent the brothers and their friends from playing competitive rounds of "pull my finger" - a tap on the forehead yields a forced fart.

The performances are charming and quite undemanding with several members of Ozu's regular troupe present - Chishu Ryu and Kuniko Miyake (the father and older son's wife in "Tokyo Story") as the put-upon parents of the TV-demanding brothers; Haruko Sugimura (the petty daughter in "Tokyo Story") as the accused dues pilferer; and Toyoko Takahashi (the Onomichi neighbor in "Tokyo Story") as another of the gossipy housewives. As the young people unable to articulate their feelings for each other, Keiji Sada is the English teacher and Yoshiko Kuga is the boys' shy aunt, who couriers the documents for translation. And as the brothers, 13-year old Koji Shitara plays Minoru and seven-year old Masahiko Shimazu is Isamu, the latter particularly adorable when mimicking his older brother. This movie is certainly not in the class of "Tokyo Story" or "Floating Weeds", but I doubt if Ozu intended it to be. It's just a gentle, well-coordinated, sometimes hilarious poke at Japanese cultural traditions, a parable masquerading as a family comedy. Personally this is the Ozu film I can relate to the most since it speaks to my generation of Japanese-born Americans. The DVD package from the Criterion Collection is surprisingly sparse - no audio commentary, no trailer - but the video transfer and sound quality are excellent.

With all due respect to the previous reviewer, I do not belive that Ozu has ever made a "second-rate" film. Good Morning is cheerful and slight, but it is a charming comedy of manners, and is a refreshing change of style for a director much more well recognized for his domestic serious drams on meditations on life and the transience of human existence. I will agree that it quite does not pack the punch of "I was Born but..", but is is very charming and entertaining in its own way. I am glad that Ozu was able to leave us with the beautiful swan-song "Autumn Afternoon" shot in lovely color, as a fond remembrance of his genius.

This is a wonderful story and Criterion is to be commended on their release of this film. The color of the actual film, in contrast to the photos on the package, is excellent. Having watched another version (Japanese only) of the same film I must say that the difference in color is astonishing. Criterion has found a much better print. Now where are the Criterion editions of Tokyo Story(and other Ozu masterpieces) and Ugetsu (Mizoguchi-not Ozu, of course)?

This is a good film. It made me laugh, smile, and think about how Ozu portrayed life in that place and era. I have watched it three times in the last year, and I always pick something new up with each viewing. The absence of camera movement is refreshing, allowing one to see the details within the composition of the scene. I recommend this film highly.

Set mainly in four homes in a small 1950's Japanese village, Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning (Ohayo) is an exceptionally wise comedy. It appears outwardly gentle, but hides a great deal of political content. Sure, there are some jokes about bodily functions here, but much of the film's humor comes from the pretense that makes a fart joke a faux pas, not from the flatulence itself. That seems to be Ozu's game. He takes down our defenses by showing us characters that are exceptionally mundane working-class folks, then uses their petty concerns to make broader social commentary. That he seems to think their concerns are petty is a suspicion that occasionally arises, but generally he seems to legitimately care about the characters on display. He takes the camera literally down to the level of a seated character, and his camera looks at them head-on while they speak. He seems to suggest that he's interested in examining these normally unexamined characters, but his stylistic choices could easily be interpreted as condescension. After all, that same focused attention almost feels like a study of these "common" people. That he feels compelled to study them so intently suggests he might not quite relate to or understand them.

The temptation certainly exists to just read Good Morning as a slice of life tale that shows the foibles of the people in the town, but there may be a bit more to it than that. Although Isamu, the small child who follows his brother throughout the film is adorable, the goal of their protest (they want a television) seems less than noble. Also, Isamu's mimicry appears to be endearing, but isn't it also a tad creepy that he's being led into a strike that he doesn't quite understand? This ambiguity seems to extend to the other characters. Ozu brings up the effects of Japan's mandatory retirement several times during the film. He seems quite critical of the system, as it forces "retired" workers to act as door-to-door salespeople that seem to function more as a burden than a service to their customers. Still, when his main adult characters realize their own retirement is impending, they simply shrug it off without any real planning. He doesn't necessarily decry their behavior, but the film almost seems as contemptuous of it as it is of the system that forces the predicament. The film's greatest amount of vitriol is spent condemning the communication gap between generations. Quite simply, the film thinks true communication between generations is impossible. It could be argued that Ozu raises such issues precisely to show that his love for this class of people extends beyond whatever faults they might have. Still, the decision to end many of his scenes the way he does makes the film feel less like a collection of slices of life and more like judgements of that lifestyle. I haven't seen enough of Ozu's to judge his attitudes, but his established reputation as a great cinematic humanist seems somewhat simpleminded. As admittedly funny as it is, Good Morning doesn't seem content to simply giggle at the poor folks, but instead creates a profoundly stated comic view on society. This is a much more complex, ambiguous, and challenging film that most reduce it to. The reason for the 4 star review? The print is less than perfect... Still, a highly recommeded film.

A previous reviewer is right, there is much more here than meets the eye and it is told in such a unique way, you'll be thinking about it for days afterwards.

Set in a small urban 'village' of complexes in the Japan of the early 1950s,the story introduces several families in this small community and follows one in particular whose two lively sons have become obsessed with their neighbor's television. Skipping their lessons, they sneak off to watch sumo wrestling on the tube.

When punished and forbidden to go to the neighbors, the boys throw a tantrum and demand their own television. The father is adamant that this thing that will "create a million idiots" is not coming to his home. The boys throw a bigger tantrum and the father tells them in no uncertain terms to shut up.

The boys respond that it is adults who talk too much - saying good morning, fine day, how are you, and other cliches that to them are silly and meaningless. Declaring they will not speak at all, they proceed to do just that with some interesting consequences.

Gentle, funny (especially when your realize why they push each other's foreheads and why the neighbor boy keeps asking for clean pants) and overall a truly touching film that you leave with a smile.

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.

Ozu has been called the most Japanese of all Japanese directors, and for good reason, he is. Ohayo (Good Morning) is Ozu at his Japanese best. There is a misunderstanding among the neighborhood ladies. Some club money has turned up missing. The misunderstanding is compounded by two boys, who after an argument with their parents, are told to shut up. The boys want a television set, the parents do not. The boys take their parents admonition to shut up to the extreme, they stop speaking to everybody, even the neighborhood ladies. These ladies find that their customary greetings of ohayo (good morning) to the boys goes unanswered. The ladies feel that the boys mother is angry at them and a neighborhood quarrel ensues. Finally the parents relent, the boys get their television set so life resumes to normality once again, everyone is happy. No action, just everyday life.

This is one of the best movies starring children I have ever seen - Ozu embraces their viewpoint - often litterally from their eye level. Often in other Ozu films like 'Tokyo Story', and 'Early Summer' - we would see flashes of children from a strikingly noncondescending and, often times, humerous perspective. Now in 'Good Morning' we have an almost entire film devoted to childhood - and events that are important in the lives of these kids and their parents and family. Like all Ozu films it is gorgeously shot and in a bright colorful style full of wonderfull compositions. It is not as masterul as 'Tokyo Story' of 'Floating Weeds' - but it gives us a better understanding of Ozu and how he saw the world - very charming film!