You Can't Hurry Life

HATS OFF and low bows to the BFI for their ongoing project to release all 32 surviving complete films by legendary Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu on DVD. Following his masterpieces Tokyo Story, Early Summer and Late Spring, which were made available last July, the two latest releases - both in Blu-ray and DVD dual format editions - are 1958's Equinox Flower and 1959's Good Morning.

Ozu is often described as the most Japanese of directors, with all the difficulties that might imply for Western audiences. Unlike, say, his contemporary Akira Kurosawa, his films haven't been remade as Hollywood actioners - which, for example, Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress have been (as The Magnificent Seven, Last Man Standing and Star Wars respectively). In fact, few of his films were seen outside Japan until after his death in 1963 at the age of 60. Ozu's recurring theme is the everyday life of everyday people, told via character-based barebones narratives, in an unhurried manner, from the vantage point of a camera that's located low to the ground and rarely - if ever - moves.

Yet Ozu's influence can be found in the work of a number of contemporary western directors. Paul Schrader, Mike Leigh, Jim Jarmusch, Kelly Reichardt, Claire Denis, Wim Wenders and even kinetic king Martin Scorsese have all borrowed elements of his measured style. Schrader is a keen disciple who captured the essence of Ozu's work when he observed: 'He directs silences and voids.' These words were particularly apt because Ozu's gravestone famously doesn't bear his name, just the single Chinese character 'Mu' – meaning 'void' or 'nothingness'. Ozu was a Zen director whose - very Japanese - conviction that silence and emptiness were among the most vital tools of his art was one he, literally, took to his grave.

Cultural differences notwithstanding, Equinox Flower and Good Morning are hugely rewarding films for audiences from any background. Imagine, if you can, an episode of EastEnders with fine ensemble acting, razor-sharp humour, depth and charm, all beautifully composed and framed in a painterly style.

The plots have a universal resonance, too. Equinox Flower, Ozu's first colour film, is a comedy about an old-fashioned father who's drawn into conflict with his more liberal-minded daughter. In Good Morning, two young brothers take a vow of silence - an EastEnders storyline many would welcome - as a protest against their parents' refusal to buy a television set and what they regard as the meaningless, gossipy prattle of their elders.

Both films dance to the rhythm of daily existence, occasionally punctuated by Ozu's pillow shots (short poetic images that don't drive the story, yet allow time for contemplation) and, in Good Morning's case, a farting competition (an EastEnders storyline that probably wouldn't be quite so welcome).

Each feature is accompanied by an early Ozu film that has never been available in the UK before. Equinox Flower is packaged with 1942's There Was A Father and Good Morning includes the 1932 silent comedy I was Born, But....

FILM DIARY: What I've been watching in 2011

Equinox Flower (Yasujiro Ozu, 1958) (7/10)

Good Morning (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959) (8/10)

Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos, 2009) This unsettling pitch-black Greek comedy is the best film I've seen so far this year. The less you know before viewing it the better because the shocks - Christ, it has shocks - are best consumed undiluted by foreknowledge. Suffice it to say, even Philip Larkin probably didn't have this in mind when he wrote his poem This Be The Verse. (9/10)

COLIN HOULSON

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here