same day.
Ozu was shocked
by Yamanaka being drafted.
But when his turn came,
he smiled and said,
''I'm going to go to war for a little bit. ''
He waved to those who had
come to see him off and then he left.
In January 1938,
on his way back from maneuvers,
he visited Corporal Yamanaka
near Nankin.
''There wasn't much
time for conversation.
He asked me
if I'd like to make war films.
I answered that I didn't know.
It was our last meeting.''
Due to an illness
contracted on the front,
Yamanaka died
the following September 17th.
A Chinese priest wrote
the character mu for Ozu.
From the battlefield,
this world beyond life and death,
Ozu brought back this ''nothingness.''
After returning to Japan,
Ozu went back to making films
that continued to revolve around
the themes of parents and children,
family and aging parents.
In 1941, he made
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family.
Brother, why were mother
and Setsuko sent to live at Kugenuma?
No special reason.
Why can't they live with you?
They did at first.
Then what happened?
They moved to your sister's.
And then what?
- Well, they moved to my house.
- And then?
She moved out on her own.
I don't believe it.
Shojiro, I acted on my own.
You keep out of this.
Even if she wanted to,
you shouldn't have let her.
You yourself said
the Kugenuma house was worthless.
You remember that.
You knew it was too old to live in.
When I came back, I was really surprised
to see my mother and sister sent there.
With all of these brothers and sisters,
I had thought she'd be well cared for.
But a lot of things happened.
Like what?
You weren't there, so -
That's not the point.
It's your attitude.
Now that father's gone,
don't tell me our mother is in the way.
What do you say to that?
I didn't know about this.
I wasn't worried about leaving.
I thought you were better than this.
I should have taken care of them myself.
I could easily have done that.
But it wasn't possible.
Children ought
to look after their parents.
She gave birth to you,
and yet you couldn't even
take care of her.
And it wasn't even a long time.
Just one year.
How can we commemorate
our father's death now?
He wouldn't be happy to hear this.
You're all selfish.
Ayako, why couldn't
Mother live with you?
She decided to move
before I could ask her.
Why didn't you insist that
she move to your place?
You should have.
We planned to, but -
Planning isn't enough.
- But -
- But what? Speak up.
All you ever do is talk.
What matters is your sincerity.
- How rude!
- How am I rude? Why don't you leave?
Go on.
Ayako, come here.
Sit down.
You go with him.
What a pair.
Think about what I said.
How about you, sister?
- I'll go, too.
Good-bye, then.
I won't see you off.
My best to your son.
What do you think?
Am I wrong?
Then you might as well leave, too.
Go on.
Good-bye.
Don't forget to pay the bill.
After making
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family
and There Was a Father,
Ozu wrote two scripts with
Ryosuke Saito based on wartime diaries.
The army complained that they weren't
glorious battlefield epics.
Ozu abandoned the project, saying,
''I have no interest in anything like that.''
In 1943, there was talk of a documentary
on India's independence movement.
But with the war getting worse,
they waited in Singapore.
The war ended shortly,
and the project was dropped.
So the war ended
while you were still in Singapore?
RYOSUKE SAITO - SCREENWRITER
Did you two see a lot of films then?
Gone with the Wind, Fantasia,
or Citizen Kane, for example?
Yes, and John Ford's films, too.
How Green Was My Valley.
William Wyler's films, too.
We were seeing those films
for the first time, like The Heiress.
We liked them very much.
Was it very difficult waiting
and living there during the war?
Not too difficult.
There was enough food.
There weren't many air raids.
And if there were,
they targeted military installations.
It wasn't