The second colour movie of Ozu and the first time I was struggling watching his movie. I have never imagined Yasujiro Ozu in genre of comedy, and this was not such a great experience. Though, it is not just a comedy. Ozu it trying to show social and cultural changes in Japan of the late 1950-s wrapping them into a family comedy. The Japanese society is getting westernized, and children who respond to everything new very fast are the ones in the center of plot. They try to convince their parents to buy the TV, while the olds thing television makes Japanese society stupid and refuse.
Ozu also shows the daily of life of quiet Tokyo neighborhood with funny episodes and scenes from people’s lives. It is funny to watch, but of course this is not something I expect from one-of-a-kind family dramas of Ozu that set very high level of his work. It is just boring after watching Noriko Trilogy or Tokyo Twilight. Nevertheless, the presence of Yoshiko Kuga who plays one of the leading roles has given my patience to watch the movie, and I’m happy I’ve done it! I could probably watch movies with Yoshiko Kuga forever! Also, it is great to see Chishu Ryu in colour since he is the most frequent Ozu’s collaborator among actors.
The last 10 minutes of the movie are certainly the best part of it. The movie is becoming more and more vivid, colorful and funny by the closing minutes. The kids finally get television. They’re happy, and parents don’t scold them anymore. And it is so sweet to see Setsuko played by Kuga standing on the railway station, smiling shiny and speaking with another male protagonist Heiichiro! It seems there were waiting for a long time to be left alone to talk. Though, this movie is not about love. Still, the smile of Yoshiko Kuga has to be taken in consideration as a solid argument to like the film!
