Synopsis
A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.
A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.
Ukikusa, Ukigusa, Herbes flottantes, 부초, Erbe fluttuanti, La hierba errante, Abschied in der Dämmerung, Dryfujące trzciny, Vízsodorta fűszálak - Sodródó emberek, Плавучие травы, Ervas Flutuantes, Dalgalanan Otlar, Χορταράκια στον Ανεμο, Floating weeds, Водорості, що пливуть, L'herba errant, მოტივტივე ბალახი, Плутајуће траве
Sometimes I get the wrong idea that Ozu makes wholesome movies because my first few were An Autumn Afternoon and Good Morning, this was depressing as hell. A compelling portrait of being unable to escape our worst tendencies, doomed to repeat ourselves and forced to accept the consequences of our actions. The central character is such a jackass, every step of the way you want to shout at him to chill the fuck out, but he’s in too deep. Movies like this feel like cautionary tales, be honest with the ones you love and be honest with yourself or else! Sometimes it’s nice to see someone else truly ruin their life to remind you that you’re doing a pretty good job at the whole living thing.
1959 was such a bizarre and wonderful year for Ozu. Having fulfilled his Shochiku contract with for the year Good Morning, he went on to make Floating Weeds for Daiei. This saw him partially separating from his usual crew, resulting in a temporary collaboration with, amongst others, Kazuo Miyagawa! The photography is stunning. But it is a departure in other ways. We temporarily step away from the middle class concerns of the marriage films to focus on a troupe of poor kabuki actors. We move away from Tokyo to a seaside town on the inland sea.
I love the village by the sea. And I love the shots of boats. I love that joyful, wistful theme.…
It is such a privilege to view the films of Ozu. He has invented a filmmaking style entirely unique to his films. It takes a few minutes to adjust to the visual style, as the head-on conversations can be jarring, yet once absorbed it tends to be quite meditative. While his characters can be stiff at times, they reveal great depth of emotion.
This was the most intense of his films I’ve seen. Autumn Afternoon and Tokyo Story are much more reflective, whereas Floating Weeds has a lot of anger and resentment boiling up between the cracks. The intergenerational relationships are something Ozu captures especially well, often showing characters trying to connect but failing to give what the other wants. The setting…
Similarly to A Story of Floating Weeds, Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu's popular 1934 silent film, this remake features a group of actors who come to a coastal village to perform traditional drama and strive for success. Through its initial fifteen minutes, the audience is made to feel disoriented by Ozu's approach of transitioning between a variety of characters without settling on any one character as the main protagonist. It follows a group of kabuki performers who cause a stir as they arrive in a seaside village. Through the introduction of Komajuro (Nakamura Ganjirō II), we are able to see how he must confront his past involving his ex-lover, Oyoshi (Haruko Sugimura), and his son, Kiyoshi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi).
Ozu employs inventive…
Ozu Took his time embracing cinematic advances but when he Finally turned to color his use of it was perfection. - Michael Rowin.
The above quote sums it all up, when it comes to Ozu color films. A lot of the elements that make up a shot in his films are something that a lot of directors would take for granted. There's a shop in this film where the windows are made up of alternating red and blue squares of glass. The colors not only jump off the screen but you're drawn to them. They're beautiful. When he revisits it at night there's a red Japanese sign behind it lit up that shines through. You're mesmerized by these colors.
It…
As soon as I finished watching, my first thought was: Why don’t I watch more of Ozu? Am I stupid?
I’ve been in a bit of a movie slump lately. I wouldn’t say Floating Weeds yanked me out of it, but it came awfully close—close enough that I’m suddenly eyeing the rest of Ozu’s filmography like a kid in a quiet museum. Floating Weeds (fantastic title, by the way) is a gentle one. Patient. Meditative. And as I get older, I’m finding myself more and more drawn to that kind of storytelling—not in a “mature palate” way, but more like how silence starts to mean something.
Few directors capture life as tenderly and plainly as Ozu. There’s no posturing here, no need to dramatize what’s already human. I was honestly a little awestruck by how sincere and open it all felt. Maybe that’s just life. Sometimes, it just sits with you like that.
Try to find a bad shot challenge (impossible edition)
Ozu’s work is so often a deeply comforting and cathartic experience, and Floating Weeds is no different. Perhaps one of his most narratively engaging works, Ozu’s style, characters, and themes are all so well thought out and executed in this. Definitely a top 3 Ozu film for me.
TRAIN STATION 8
"Ervas Flutuantes" narra a trajetória de uma trupe itinerante de teatro kabuki que, ao percorrer diversas regiões do Japão, decide fazer uma parada em uma isolada vila de pescadores. No centro da narrativa está Komajuro, um ator já envelhecido que participou da fundação do grupo e carrega consigo o peso de uma vida marcada pela estrada. Ao chegar ao local, ele passa a frequentar diariamente o estabelecimento de Oyoshi, uma antiga companheira, proprietária de um pequeno bar de saquê. Dessa relação passada nasceu Kiyoshi, um jovem recém-formado que agora trabalha nos correios da vila. Como Komajuro sempre viveu em constante deslocamento, sua presença na vida do filho foi rara e irregular, o que levou ele e Oyoshi a ocultarem a…
Picked by: BrunoLD, Michael’s Cinema Paradiso, and Kosta Jovanović.
Floating Weeds is at times a comparably light and funny Ozu film, but like so many it is about change and a part of life coming to an end. Floating Weeds is about a non-traditional life, without security or stability, and people trying to forge a family after the right time has passed. The film is about a stubborn father, insecure about his status, and wanting more for his son. But his deceitful ways are unhelpful. Truth helps provide peace and understanding, lies hurts everyone. This is a film of outdated, traditional stage plays and a movement into a more modern real world performance.
Floating Weeds is filled…
Top 100 Directors Challenge: 12. Yasujirō Ozu
A film that flows through its two hours like a stream through the hills of Tokyo, Floating Weeds runs at a steady pace, never racing, never standing still. As a piece of artistic expression, this is pure Ozu and his characteristic photographic style is evident in every frame with face-on dialogue, straight lines everywhere and plenty of Japanese cultural symbolism to add interest.
Personally, I didn't find the story here particularly engaging, but hey, can't win 'em all I guess.
Another Ozu movie that patiently accumulates detail until it suddenly wallops you in the face at around the 100-minute mark.
I’m still in my Ozu discovery phase. This is my fifth film of his. I can see that one of the most common themes found in Yasujirō Ozu’s work is the generational divide between parents and children. This is often viewed through the lens of encroaching western modernization. For example, the tragedy of his most acclaimed film, Tokyo Story, involves an aging couple whose grown children no longer look after them because of their busy, modern lives. In that film, it’s the children who are preoccupied and selfish. Not out of malice, it’s just that they can’t be bothered. They have their own families, jobs, interests, distractions. Traditional Japanese family values seem to be dying. Times are changing. Change is…