goose bumps.''
That's what he often said.
It was different with my father,
who was a more approachable mentor,
and Ozu felt more at ease with him.
Once Ozu moved here to Kamakura,
he started visiting quite often -
maybe twice a week, sometimes
after he'd been out drinking,
other times to eat and drink
with my father.
They were very easy with each other.
They drank and talked, often nothing
but nonsense, late into the night.
They'd get drunk and groggy,
and sometimes Ozu would
fall asleep right in the parlor.
So we realized we'd have to
put him up for the night,
but no one could move him-
he was so big and heavy.
Even worse, he'd be leaning against
the closet where we kept the bedding,
so we couldn't get the futon out,
and he wouldn't budge,
and all we could do
was throw up our hands.
That's one of the sillier memories
I have of him.
Ozu's films have won
wide acclaim overseas,
and showings continue to be
amazingly well-attended even today.
What do you think the secret is?
Ozu's films are quite different
from foreign films in every respect -
KASHI KO KAWAKITA
CHAI RMAN: TOHO-TOWA
how they're made, their narrative
structure, the direction.
But they capture something
very fundamental about being human,
and they manage to express it
in a way anyone can understand.
That's what draws people in,
no matter who they are.
I think it's because he portrays
things common to all people
that moviegoers all around the world
understand and feel
such an affinity for Ozu's films.
TheJapanese say no director
is moreJapanese than Ozu.
DONALD RICHIE - FILM HISTORIAN
And they're right.
He is indeed profoundlyJapanese.
But when you talk about being profoundly
American, orJapanese, or British,
when you dig down really deep,
it's all universal.
That's why we are all so moved
by films like Tokyo Story
and Late Spring and Early Summer-
because we truly understand
what the characters are going through,
and we recognize their humanity.
Deep down, we share our essential
humanness. We feel the same things.
Intellectually we may be different,
but emotionally we're very much the same.
TOKYO STORY
Look how big Tokyo is.
Yes, isn't it?
If we got lost,
we'd never find each other again.
Why, Father!
Good night.
Who's he, Father?
Father! What's all this?
Father!
What's happened?
He's not alone!
- Who is it?
- Some stranger!
What's all this, Father?
Father! Answer me!
You've started drinking again,
haven't you?
Tokyo Story is about
the dissolution of the family.
The theme was new and true,
and Ozu was never simpler
or more refined.
Father, you're impossible.
With them all gone,
you'll be lonely.
It was really so sudden.
If I had known things
would come to this,
I'd have been kinder to her
while she was alive.
Living alone, I feel
the days will get very long.
Lonely.
You will be lonely.
After Tokyo Story,
Ozu and Kogo Noda moved
their workplace from Chigasaki
to Noda's villa in Tadeshina.
There they wrote all the later films.
UNKO-SO -THE NODA VILLA
What can you tell us
about how they worked?
Well, work for them
was basically like play.
What would you say the balance was
between drinking and working?
They probably did
more drinking than working.
They didn't get up until after 9:00,
SHIZU NODA -WIDOW OF
KOGO NODA, SCREENWRITER
and they liked to bathe in the morning.
But they'd both say ''after you,''
so I got impatient and took my bath first.
Pretty soon that became the custom.
They'd never bathe until after me.
After their baths
they'd have breakfast.
Between them they'd drink
three go of sake with their breakfast.
After breakfast, they'd
immediately lie down for a nap
until about 1 :00.
Then