Good Morning + I Was Born, But... [DVD + Blu-ray] [1959]

Good Morning is relatively slight almost lightweight Ozu (you can tell from the almost Carry On strains in the music only occasionally contrasted with the plangent yearning of more serious fare and the melodious children in the background round the school), this is nevertheless priceless in all departments. Acting is as usual magically restrained (the Ryu family and the lovers who can't talk about more than the nice day they are experiencing) and cynically gossipy or comically bitter in the more dysfunctional house where the boy who can't fart lives. And of course the amazing pitch-perfect rebellious children. You couldn't make it up, but he (and Noda the co-writer) did! Wonderful entertainment, if you watch fully attending of course. There is as much to see and admire (swoon over) in the composition of washing lines and underpants as many films manage in 2 hours of smash and burn.

As with all Ozu Films, there is something underling the plot or simmering within; however this one is what You See Is What You Get, a good comedy with lots of good acting from Ozu acting group, that he has used on many films and these re-makes.

Beautiful little film with one of the funniest fart gags ever! ♡

Ozu's films are wonderful and this applies to the films in this set. But there appears to be a problem with the bluray region code. It says region B but does not play either in a region B nor a region A player.

The item arrived in good shape and well ahead of schedule. This is a fine vendor. There were no problems

Ozu is a Japanese marvel and this,Good Morning(1959),is one of his later films,shot in colour,depicting the social comedy of the importance of the giving or with-holding of small talk.The concept of good neighbourliness is built on the social glue of small favours and exchange and banal pleasantries like talking about the weather or being polite on greeting or goodbye.The young Hayashi brothers steal away to a new neighbour’s house to watch sumo wrestling on TV,in a bohemian couple’s house, sometimes neglecting their homework.They complain to their family that they too want a TV.This is denied to them,as there’s a rumour that it would turn the Japanese into idiots.When ordered by their father to remain silent,they vow not to speak to anyone.However their protest is mistaken for an intentional snub when a neighbour, Mrs Haraguchi,assumes that their silence is part of an earlier misunderstanding with Mrs. Hayashi regarding payment of club dues. Soon, news of Mrs. Haraguchi's "pettiness" over personal grudges spreads through the village, and neighbours collectively take turns to visit Mrs. Hayashi and return all their borrowed items.When the boys’ silence at school leads to further difficulties,a teacher visits them at home to enquire about the boy’s refusal to talk,they run away to avoid being scolded.This is a whimsical,light-hearted glimpse into contemporary Japanese life, showing the importance of etiquette and consumerism in a close-knit, suburban village of Japan.Speech is shown to be the essence of thought and emotion in social interaction.There are jokes about flatulence and side-stories about the plight of those coming up for retirement,drunkenness,and an English teacher’s affection for Aunt Setsuko,which enrich the story.There is a concentration in Ozu’s filming techniques on the characters with low-set cameras,well set up shots,and characters seeming to talk directly into the camera,as if it’s a partner in the dialogue.The music is Tati-esque,the colours are bright and primary.

One of Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu's latter movies (and among his few color films). In a Japanese suburb in the late 1950s, two Japanese tykes (one about 10 years old, the other about 6) decide not to talk to anybody any more until their parents buy them a television set (this film was made in an era where many people in Japan were buying their first TVs).Shot in his traditional transcendental style, this charming comedy shows a more modern Japan than in other Ozu fims of that era (at the same time, the cultural attitudes the movie reflects make it very much a film of the fifties). This was probably one of the first movies made anywhere to deal with life in the suburbs - even if it is set in a very Japanese suburbia (all the houses are very close to each other and its residents constantly interact with each other. There is also constant gossiping around among the housewives). In many ways, Good Morning is a movie about the many changes brought by the modernization and Americanization of Japanese society after World War II, Surprisingly for an Ozu film, this has even a number of gags involving human flatulence.A triumph for Ozu, even if it is probably not as moving as Tokyo Story, Late Spring or Early Summer. The ensemble of actors certainly helps.

Funny and intelligent it's a surprise for those who think that Ozu is (only) a formal director.