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If in our century
there are still sacred things,
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00:00:55,311 --> 00:00:59,309
if there were something like
a sacred treasure of the cinema,
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00:01:00,321 --> 00:01:01,911
then for me it would have to be
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00:01:02,031 --> 00:01:06,189
the work of the Japanese
director Yasujirō Ozu.
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00:01:06,418 --> 00:01:08,000
TOKYO STORY
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00:01:08,085 --> 00:01:10,277
He made 54 films.
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00:01:11,056 --> 00:01:13,210
Silent films in the Twenties,
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00:01:13,330 --> 00:01:15,896
black-and-white films
in the Thirties and Forties,
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00:01:16,016 --> 00:01:21,773
and finally, color films until
his death on December 12th, 1963,
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00:01:22,223 --> 00:01:24,416
on his 60th birthday.
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00:01:26,515 --> 00:01:29,065
With extreme economy of means
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00:01:29,185 --> 00:01:32,330
and reduced to
but the bare essentials,
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00:01:32,450 --> 00:01:36,700
Ozu's films again and again
tell the same simple story,
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00:01:36,820 --> 00:01:41,203
always of the same people
and the same city: Tokyo.
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00:01:42,488 --> 00:01:45,357
This chronicle,
spanning nearly 40 years,
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00:01:45,477 --> 00:01:49,366
depicts the transformation
of life in Japan.
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00:01:49,486 --> 00:01:54,366
Ozu's films deal with the slow
deterioration of the Japanese family,
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and thereby with the deterioration
of a national identity.
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00:01:59,002 --> 00:02:01,591
But they do so not
by pointing with dismay
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00:02:01,711 --> 00:02:05,039
at what is new, Western, or American,
23
00:02:05,159 --> 00:02:09,144
but by lamenting with
an unindulged sense of nostalgia
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00:02:09,264 --> 00:02:12,565
the loss taking place
at the same time.
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00:02:13,224 --> 00:02:16,529
As thoroughly Japanese as they are,
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00:02:16,649 --> 00:02:20,316
these films are,
at the same time, universal.
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00:02:21,314 --> 00:02:24,371
In them I've been able
to recognize all families
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00:02:24,491 --> 00:02:26,784
in all the countries of the world,
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00:02:26,904 --> 00:02:30,398
as well as my parents,
my brother, and myself.
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00:02:31,388 --> 00:02:34,953
For me, never before,
and never again since,
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00:02:35,073 --> 00:02:39,363
has the cinema been so close
to its essence and its purpose:
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00:02:40,077 --> 00:02:43,149
To present an image
of man in our century,
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a usable, true and valid image
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00:02:46,812 --> 00:02:49,983
in which you not only
recognize himself,
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00:02:50,103 --> 00:02:53,598
but from which, above all,
he may learn about himself.
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00:03:53,926 --> 00:03:57,459
- Good morning.
- Oh, good morning.
37
00:03:57,579 --> 00:04:01,015
- Leaving today?
- Yes, this afternoon.
38
00:04:02,352 --> 00:04:06,190
This is our chance to see
all our children together.
39
00:04:06,986 --> 00:04:11,523
They must be looking forward
to your arrival in Tokyo.
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00:04:12,661 --> 00:04:15,607
Keep an eye on our house
while we're gone, will you?
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00:04:15,727 --> 00:04:17,882
Don't worry.
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00:04:18,002 --> 00:04:21,999
I'm jealous that your children
have all turned out so well.
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00:04:22,119 --> 00:04:23,911
You're lucky!
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00:04:24,031 --> 00:04:26,645
I suppose so.
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00:04:26,765 --> 00:04:29,232
The weather is really splendid.
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00:04:29,352 --> 00:04:31,690
It's a blessing.
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00:04:32,028 --> 00:04:34,440
Have a safe trip and have fun.
48
00:04:34,993 --> 00:04:36,732
Thank you.
49
00:04:42,382 --> 00:04:44,594
I can't find the inflatable cushion.
50
00:04:44,714 --> 00:04:47,121
It has to be here. Look again.
51
00:04:50,118 --> 00:04:52,162
Wait, here it is.
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00:04:52,282 --> 00:04:54,993
- Find it?
- Yes, got it.
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00:05:10,936 --> 00:05:15,085
Anyway, Ozu's work
does not need my praise,
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00:05:15,205 --> 00:05:17,579
and such a sacred treasure
of the cinema
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00:05:17,699 --> 00:05:21,170
could only reside in the realm
of the imagination.
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00:05:22,269 --> 00:05:26,629
And so, my trip to Tokyo
was in no way a pilgrimage.
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00:05:27,751 --> 00:05:32,904
I was curious as to whether I still could
track down something from this time,
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whether there was still anything
left of this work.
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00:05:36,827 --> 00:05:40,082
Images, perhaps, or even people.
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00:05:40,931 --> 00:05:43,398
Or whether so much would
have changed in Tokyo
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00:05:43,518 --> 00:05:45,701
in the 20 years since Ozu's death,
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00:05:45,821 --> 00:05:48,280
that nothing would be left to find.
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00:06:01,524 --> 00:06:04,126
I don't have
the slightest recollection.
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00:06:04,246 --> 00:06:06,408
I just don't remember anymore.
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00:06:07,205 --> 00:06:09,620
I know I was in Tokyo.
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00:06:09,740 --> 00:06:12,457
I know it was the spring of '83.
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00:06:12,577 --> 00:06:13,688
I know.
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00:06:14,811 --> 00:06:17,764
I had a camera with me,
and I shot footage.
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00:06:17,884 --> 00:06:21,682
These images now exist,
and they have become my memory.
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00:06:22,665 --> 00:06:24,788
But I can't help thinking
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00:06:24,908 --> 00:06:27,352
if I'd been there without the camera,
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00:06:27,472 --> 00:06:29,997
I'd now be able to better remember.
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00:06:38,159 --> 00:06:40,011
On the flight over,
they showed a film.
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00:06:40,131 --> 00:06:42,098
And like always,
I tried not to watch it,
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00:06:42,218 --> 00:06:45,148
and like always,
I found myself watching it.
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00:06:46,114 --> 00:06:49,359
Without the sound, the images
on the tiny screen up front
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00:06:49,479 --> 00:06:52,162
seemed only
that much more empty to me.
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00:06:52,282 --> 00:06:56,132
A hollow form, feigning
and imitating emotion.
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00:06:59,409 --> 00:07:02,112
It felt good just
to look out the window.
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00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,674
"If only it were possible to film
like that", I though to myself,
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00:07:06,794 --> 00:07:09,286
"like when you open
your eyes sometimes.
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00:07:09,821 --> 00:07:14,062
Just to look, without wanting
to prove anything."
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00:09:50,727 --> 00:09:53,037
Tokyo was like a dream.
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00:09:54,293 --> 00:09:57,033
And today, my own images
appear to me
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00:09:57,153 --> 00:09:58,642
as if they were invented,
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00:09:58,762 --> 00:10:02,625
like when, after a long time,
you find a slip of paper
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00:10:02,745 --> 00:10:07,259
on which you once had scribbled down
a dream on the first light of dawn.
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00:10:07,379 --> 00:10:08,655
You read it in amazement,
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00:10:08,775 --> 00:10:10,533
and you don't recognize a thing,
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00:10:10,653 --> 00:10:13,067
as if it were someone else's dream.
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00:10:13,888 --> 00:10:16,824
And so, I now find it hard to believe
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00:10:16,944 --> 00:10:19,752
that I actually stumbled
upon this cemetery,
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00:10:19,872 --> 00:10:23,655
where, beneath the blossoming
cherry trees,
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00:10:23,775 --> 00:10:28,069
picnicking groups of men
sat and drank and laughed,
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00:10:28,189 --> 00:10:31,264
cameras were clicking everywhere,
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00:10:31,384 --> 00:10:35,440
and the cawing of the ravens
kept ringing in my ears
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00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:37,685
for sometime to come.
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00:11:27,125 --> 00:11:30,843
It was only upon seeing
a little boy in the subway,
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00:11:30,963 --> 00:11:34,854
a boy who simply didn't want
to take another step,
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00:11:34,974 --> 00:11:37,506
that I realized why my images of Tokyo
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00:11:37,626 --> 00:11:40,239
seem to me like those of a sleepwalker.
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00:11:41,263 --> 00:11:43,714
No other city, along with its people,
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00:11:43,834 --> 00:11:47,494
has ever felt so familiar
and so intimate to me
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00:11:47,614 --> 00:11:50,214
long before I ever managed
to go there,
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00:11:50,334 --> 00:11:52,819
mainly for the films of Ozu.
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00:11:52,939 --> 00:11:55,825
I wanted to rediscover
this familiarity,
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00:11:55,945 --> 00:12:01,049
and it was this intimacy that my images
of Tokyo were trying to find.
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00:12:02,147 --> 00:12:04,249
In this little boy in the subway,
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00:12:04,369 --> 00:12:08,843
I recognized one of the many
rebellious children from Ozu's films.
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00:12:08,963 --> 00:12:11,661
Or maybe I just wanted to recognize.
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00:12:11,781 --> 00:12:15,955
Perhaps I was searching for something
that no longer existed.
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00:15:54,631 --> 00:15:56,392
Late into that night,
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00:15:56,968 --> 00:15:59,997
and then late into
all the following nights,
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00:16:00,117 --> 00:16:03,732
I lost myself in one
of the many Pachinko parlors,
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00:16:04,148 --> 00:16:08,747
in the deafening noise where
you sit in front of your machine -
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one player among many,
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00:16:10,990 --> 00:16:14,121
yet for that reason,
all the more alone -
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and watch the countless metal balls
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00:16:16,473 --> 00:16:19,541
dance between the nails
on the way out,
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00:16:19,661 --> 00:16:22,438
or once in a while
into a winning game.
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00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:26,607
This game induces a kind of hypnosis,
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00:16:26,945 --> 00:16:29,351
a strange feeling of happiness.
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00:16:30,247 --> 00:16:32,877
Winning is hardly important.
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00:16:32,997 --> 00:16:35,557
But time passes.
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00:16:35,677 --> 00:16:38,074
You lose touch with yourself
for a while
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and merge with the machine,
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00:16:40,071 --> 00:16:44,349
and perhaps you forget
what you always wanted to forget.
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00:16:45,518 --> 00:16:48,998
This game first appeared
after the lost war
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00:16:49,118 --> 00:16:52,612
when the Japanese people
had a national trauma to forget.
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00:16:53,933 --> 00:16:56,282
Only the skillful or the lucky,
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00:16:56,402 --> 00:16:59,161
and of course the professional players,
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can considerably increase
the number of balls
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and trade them in afterwards
for cigarettes, food,
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00:17:05,758 --> 00:17:09,550
electronic gadgets,
or for credit slips
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00:17:09,670 --> 00:17:13,760
which, although illegal,
can be exchanged for cash
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00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:15,916
in one of the neighboring alleys.
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00:17:45,494 --> 00:17:48,150
I took a taxi
back to the hotel.
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00:19:37,683 --> 00:19:39,430
The more the reality of Tokyo
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00:19:39,550 --> 00:19:43,134
struck me as a torrent
of impersonal, unkind,
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00:19:43,254 --> 00:19:47,162
threatening, yes, even inhuman images,
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00:19:47,282 --> 00:19:50,590
the greater and more powerful
it became in my mind
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00:19:50,710 --> 00:19:53,036
the images of the loving,
ordered world
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00:19:53,156 --> 00:19:58,251
of the mythical city of Tokyo that I knew
from the films of Yasujirō Ozu.
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00:20:00,433 --> 00:20:03,877
Perhaps that was what
no longer existed:
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00:20:05,072 --> 00:20:10,512
A view which still could achieve order
in a world out of order.
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00:20:11,071 --> 00:20:14,270
A view which could still render
the world transparent.
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00:20:20,642 --> 00:20:24,414
Perhaps such a view
is no longer possible today,
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00:20:24,534 --> 00:20:27,494
not even for Ozu, were he still alive.
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00:20:28,850 --> 00:20:31,949
Perhaps the frantically
growing inflation of images
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00:20:32,069 --> 00:20:34,365
has already destroyed too much.
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00:20:35,636 --> 00:20:39,057
Perhaps images at one with the world
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are already lost forever.
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00:21:17,134 --> 00:21:18,496
When John Wayne left,
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00:21:18,616 --> 00:21:21,480
it wasn't the Stars and Stripe
that appeared,
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00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,741
but rather the red ball
of the Japanese flag.
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00:21:25,857 --> 00:21:29,796
And while I was falling asleep,
I had the craziest thought:
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00:21:30,786 --> 00:21:33,569
"Where I am now
is the center of the world.
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00:21:33,689 --> 00:21:36,239
"Every shitty television set,
no matter where,
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00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:37,738
"is the center of the world.
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00:21:37,858 --> 00:21:40,242
"The center has become
a ludicrous idea,
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00:21:40,362 --> 00:21:41,691
"and the world as well:
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00:21:41,811 --> 00:21:44,456
"An image of the world,
a ludicrous idea.
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00:21:44,576 --> 00:21:47,093
"the more TV sets
there are on the globe.
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00:21:47,213 --> 00:21:52,847
"And here I am in the country that
builds them all for the whole world
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00:21:52,967 --> 00:21:57,400
so that the whole world
can watch the American images."
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00:22:01,213 --> 00:22:03,342
On one of the following days,
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00:22:03,462 --> 00:22:05,980
I visited the actor Chishū Ryū.
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00:22:07,269 --> 00:22:09,558
He had played in nearly
all of Ozu's films
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00:22:09,678 --> 00:22:12,134
ever since the days of the silents,
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00:22:12,254 --> 00:22:15,778
often in the roles of men
much older than himself.
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00:22:17,401 --> 00:22:21,320
In many of Ozu's films,
he was the father,
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00:22:22,179 --> 00:22:24,582
although he himself was barely older
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00:22:24,702 --> 00:22:28,325
than the actors and actresses
who played his sons and daughters.
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00:22:29,312 --> 00:22:33,510
I once saw him in two different films
of Ozu on one and the same day.
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00:22:34,168 --> 00:22:36,797
In the first film
from the early Thirties,
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00:22:36,917 --> 00:22:40,756
he portrayed the life of a man
from youth through old age.
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00:22:40,876 --> 00:22:43,839
And in the second film
from the end of the Fifties,
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00:22:43,959 --> 00:22:48,179
he himself really was as old
as the role he had played then.
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00:22:49,011 --> 00:22:52,946
The characters in the stories
in both films were nearly identical.
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00:22:53,888 --> 00:22:57,334
Never before have I felt
such respect for an actor
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00:22:57,454 --> 00:23:00,201
as on this day for Chishū Ryū.
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00:23:01,060 --> 00:23:03,246
I tried to explain this to him,
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00:23:04,013 --> 00:23:06,614
but my compliment
only embarrassed him.
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00:23:07,420 --> 00:23:09,569
He sidestepped it modestly.
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00:23:38,744 --> 00:23:42,003
At that time, he said,
his real age was 30,
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00:23:42,123 --> 00:23:46,584
and the role I'd asked him about
was that of a 60-year-old.
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00:23:46,704 --> 00:23:51,172
The point wasn't to act old age,
but only to look old.
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00:23:51,292 --> 00:23:55,309
He didn't concern himself with
anything else except looking old.
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00:23:56,242 --> 00:23:59,561
Ozu always told him
how to do something,
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00:23:59,681 --> 00:24:04,480
and then he carried out his orders
without giving it a second thought.
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00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,619
Anyway, acting under Ozu
was much less a matter
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00:24:08,739 --> 00:24:12,288
of bringing discoveries
and experiences to a role
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00:24:12,408 --> 00:24:16,190
as of precisely carrying out
Ozu's instructions.
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00:24:29,951 --> 00:24:33,086
I asked him if Ozu
had rehearsed much.
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00:24:58,891 --> 00:25:01,781
That depended on
how difficult the scene was.
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00:25:02,409 --> 00:25:05,560
Many times two or three
rehearsals were enough,
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00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,448
and then the scene was shot.
198
00:25:08,337 --> 00:25:11,981
But in his case,
that he had to admit,
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00:25:12,101 --> 00:25:15,707
Ozu was rarely satisfied
with a first or second take.
200
00:25:16,556 --> 00:25:20,351
With him, Ryū,
things took quite a while.
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00:25:21,014 --> 00:25:24,864
He remembered once rehearsing
a scene more than 20 times
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00:25:24,984 --> 00:25:28,079
and then shooting it
more than 20 times as well.
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00:25:28,199 --> 00:25:32,055
He himself didn't have any idea
what he was doing wrong
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00:25:32,175 --> 00:25:34,666
and simply thought to himself,
205
00:25:34,786 --> 00:25:37,893
"Even a poor marksman
will hit the bull's-eye
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00:25:38,013 --> 00:25:40,767
if he just keeps blasting
away long enough."
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00:25:41,378 --> 00:25:45,294
Afterwards, Ozu merely
asked him, in all friendliness,
208
00:25:45,414 --> 00:25:49,618
"Ryū, today's not one
of your better days, is it?
209
00:25:50,327 --> 00:25:52,548
Or are you trying
to test my patience?"
210
00:25:53,745 --> 00:25:56,051
At any rate, with other actors,
211
00:25:56,171 --> 00:25:58,098
better actors than himself,
212
00:25:58,218 --> 00:26:01,807
Ozu was often satisfied
with one or two takes.
213
00:26:01,927 --> 00:26:05,795
But working with him, Ryū,
must have been difficult,
214
00:26:05,915 --> 00:26:10,295
and so he had to consider himself
in the ranks of the less talented.
215
00:26:24,475 --> 00:26:27,023
For Ryū,
the relationship to Ozu
216
00:26:27,143 --> 00:26:30,222
was always that of a pupil
to his teacher,
217
00:26:30,342 --> 00:26:32,429
or of a son to his father.
218
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,680
Although Ozu was only a year
older than he was,
219
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,098
there was an enormous distance
220
00:26:38,218 --> 00:26:41,266
between the two of them
in terms of intellect,
221
00:26:41,807 --> 00:26:44,266
and Ozu was always the teacher,
222
00:26:44,386 --> 00:26:49,339
the master from whom he, Ryū,
had only to learn,
223
00:26:49,459 --> 00:26:50,440
from beginning to end.
224
00:27:14,561 --> 00:27:16,175
Ozu, the master,
225
00:27:16,295 --> 00:27:19,054
possessed an incredible
force of character
226
00:27:19,174 --> 00:27:21,912
and left his imprint
on everything around him.
227
00:27:22,545 --> 00:27:26,198
And so, everything became
an extension of Ozu.
228
00:27:26,318 --> 00:27:28,173
In the studio, for instance,
229
00:27:28,293 --> 00:27:32,671
he not only concerned himself
with the sets and decorations in general,
230
00:27:32,791 --> 00:27:35,849
but with every detail
and every little thing.
231
00:27:36,448 --> 00:27:38,235
He positioned every cushion
232
00:27:38,355 --> 00:27:41,437
and put every single object
in its place.
233
00:27:41,557 --> 00:27:43,988
Nothing was left to chance.
234
00:27:44,747 --> 00:27:50,235
He would even straighten out
the actors' costumes just before a take.
235
00:27:50,355 --> 00:27:53,950
And there's nothing wrong
with that, Ryū concluded,
236
00:27:54,070 --> 00:27:56,714
when someone is so sure
of what he wants.
237
00:28:16,042 --> 00:28:20,642
Ryū said that under Ozu,
he learned to forget himself,
238
00:28:20,762 --> 00:28:22,719
to become an empty page.
239
00:28:24,113 --> 00:28:26,544
He thought about nothing
but his work,
240
00:28:26,664 --> 00:28:31,542
and that meant, above all, to never
have a fixed notion about this work.
241
00:28:31,662 --> 00:28:33,118
On the contrary.
242
00:28:34,282 --> 00:28:38,215
How to come as close
as possible to the Ozu idea,
243
00:28:38,335 --> 00:28:41,676
how to move in harmony
with the master's instructions.
244
00:28:43,323 --> 00:28:46,429
His thoughts had revolved
constantly around this,
245
00:28:46,549 --> 00:28:48,789
and this had been his preparation.
246
00:29:07,656 --> 00:29:09,154
Other films or actors
247
00:29:09,274 --> 00:29:12,811
hadn't influenced him, explained Ryū.
248
00:29:12,931 --> 00:29:17,112
He had only tried to become
but one color upon Ozu's palette.
249
00:29:18,252 --> 00:29:21,705
The luckiest day of his life
was when Ozu chose him,
250
00:29:21,825 --> 00:29:26,034
him of all people,
from among all the others.
251
00:29:26,154 --> 00:29:29,838
Otherwise his life certainly
would have taken a different turn.
252
00:29:30,751 --> 00:29:34,480
Ozu had given him a role
and had taught him things,
253
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,765
now and then, with gentle pressure
254
00:29:36,885 --> 00:29:39,863
which he never would
have learned otherwise.
255
00:29:39,983 --> 00:29:44,190
He started out a nobody,
and thanks to Ozu,
256
00:29:44,310 --> 00:29:46,725
he became someone
with the name of Ryū.
257
00:29:47,603 --> 00:29:50,030
Ozu made him what he was.
258
00:29:50,150 --> 00:29:53,185
There was simply no other way
for him to think of it.
259
00:30:32,115 --> 00:30:34,023
The women
had recognized Chishū Ryū
260
00:30:34,143 --> 00:30:38,020
because he had recently appeared
in a popular television series.
261
00:30:38,884 --> 00:30:41,813
Nowadays, no one would still
recognize him
262
00:30:41,933 --> 00:30:45,542
from his roles in the Ozu films,
he later told me,
263
00:30:45,662 --> 00:30:47,400
as if apologizing.
264
00:30:48,221 --> 00:30:52,110
We took the train to the nearby cemetery
where Ozu is buried:
265
00:30:53,035 --> 00:30:54,726
Kita-Kamakura.
266
00:30:55,273 --> 00:30:58,820
The train station appears
in one of his own films.
267
00:32:21,294 --> 00:32:23,902
Ozu's gravestone
bears no name,
268
00:32:24,022 --> 00:32:27,490
only an old Chinese character, MU,
269
00:32:27,610 --> 00:32:31,650
which means: emptiness, nothingness.
270
00:32:41,464 --> 00:32:44,537
I thought about this symbol
on the ride back in the train.
271
00:32:44,657 --> 00:32:46,417
Nothingness.
272
00:32:46,537 --> 00:32:50,130
As a child, I'd often tried
to imagine nothingness.
273
00:32:50,250 --> 00:32:52,554
The idea of it
had filled me with fear.
274
00:32:52,674 --> 00:32:57,565
"Nothing simply cannot exist",
I'd always told myself.
275
00:32:57,685 --> 00:33:01,315
"Only what's there can exist,
what's real.
276
00:33:01,435 --> 00:33:02,797
Reality."
277
00:33:03,740 --> 00:33:09,511
Hardly any other notion is more empty
and useless when applied to the cinema.
278
00:33:09,631 --> 00:33:12,070
Each person knows for himself
279
00:33:12,190 --> 00:33:16,033
what is meant
by the perception of reality.
280
00:33:16,153 --> 00:33:19,731
Each person sees his reality
with his own eyes.
281
00:33:20,266 --> 00:33:23,968
One sees the others above all
the people one loves.
282
00:33:24,088 --> 00:33:26,912
One sees the object
surrounding himself,
283
00:33:27,032 --> 00:33:30,607
sees the cities and countrysides
in which one lives.
284
00:33:30,727 --> 00:33:33,410
One also sees death,
man's mortality
285
00:33:33,530 --> 00:33:36,113
and the transitoriness of objects.
286
00:33:36,233 --> 00:33:41,054
One sees and experiences love,
loneliness, happiness,
287
00:33:41,174 --> 00:33:42,908
sadness, fear.
288
00:33:43,028 --> 00:33:48,908
In short, each person
sees for himself: life.
289
00:33:49,028 --> 00:33:52,407
And each person knows
for himself the extreme gap
290
00:33:52,527 --> 00:33:55,705
that often exists between
personal experience
291
00:33:55,825 --> 00:33:59,983
and the depiction of that experience
up there on the screen.
292
00:34:00,103 --> 00:34:02,405
We have learned to consider
the vast distance
293
00:34:02,525 --> 00:34:06,012
separating cinema from life
as so perfectly natural
294
00:34:06,132 --> 00:34:08,682
that we gasp and give a start
295
00:34:08,802 --> 00:34:12,404
when we suddenly discover
something true or real in a movie,
296
00:34:12,524 --> 00:34:17,281
be it nothing more than the gesture
of a child in the background,
297
00:34:17,401 --> 00:34:20,304
or a bird flying across the frame,
298
00:34:20,424 --> 00:34:25,129
or a cloud casting its shadow
over the scene for but an instant.
299
00:34:25,249 --> 00:34:30,400
It is a rarity in today's cinema
to find such moments of truth.
300
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:35,275
For people are objects to show
themselves as they really are.
301
00:34:35,395 --> 00:34:38,681
That's what was so unique
in Ozu's films,
302
00:34:38,801 --> 00:34:41,002
and above all, in his later ones.
303
00:34:41,122 --> 00:34:44,059
There were such moments of truth.
304
00:34:44,179 --> 00:34:45,732
No, not just moments.
305
00:34:45,852 --> 00:34:50,332
Long-range truth lasting
from the first image to the last.
306
00:34:50,452 --> 00:34:56,625
Films which actually and continuously
dealt with life itself,
307
00:34:56,745 --> 00:34:58,934
and in which the people, the objects,
308
00:34:59,054 --> 00:35:03,222
the cities, and the countrysides
revealed themselves.
309
00:35:03,342 --> 00:35:06,787
Such a depiction of reality,
such an art,
310
00:35:06,907 --> 00:35:09,472
is no longer to be found
in the cinema.
311
00:35:09,592 --> 00:35:11,400
It was once.
312
00:35:12,301 --> 00:35:14,688
Nothingness...
313
00:35:14,808 --> 00:35:15,900
what remains today.
314
00:35:21,057 --> 00:35:25,137
Back in Tokyo, the Pachinko parlors
were already closed.
315
00:35:25,804 --> 00:35:29,994
Only the Kogichi, the "nail men",
were still at work.
316
00:35:51,225 --> 00:35:54,338
Tomorrow, all the balls
would run a different course,
317
00:35:54,458 --> 00:35:57,770
and a machine which could still
have made you a winner today
318
00:35:57,890 --> 00:36:00,634
would only make you
a desperate loser tomorrow.
319
00:36:28,255 --> 00:36:29,501
Shinjuku.
320
00:36:29,621 --> 00:36:32,846
A section of Tokyo
with one bar after another.
321
00:36:32,966 --> 00:36:35,645
In Ozu's films,
many such alleys appear
322
00:36:35,765 --> 00:36:39,746
in which his abandoned or lonely
fathers drown their sorrows.
323
00:36:39,866 --> 00:36:43,637
I set up my camera
and filmed like I always do.
324
00:36:43,757 --> 00:36:46,145
And then a second time.
325
00:36:47,544 --> 00:36:50,706
The same alley,
the same camera position,
326
00:36:50,826 --> 00:36:52,852
but using another focal length:
327
00:36:52,972 --> 00:36:57,520
The 50 millimeter, a lens
with a very slight telephoto effect,
328
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,734
the one Ozu always used
for each and every shot.
329
00:37:02,874 --> 00:37:05,270
Another image presented itself,
330
00:37:05,390 --> 00:37:08,356
one that no longer belonged to me.
331
00:39:00,730 --> 00:39:03,214
At the cemetery
the next morning,
332
00:39:03,334 --> 00:39:05,539
the same invisible ravens cawed
333
00:39:05,659 --> 00:39:07,841
and the children played baseball.
334
00:39:08,810 --> 00:39:11,830
And up on the roofs
of the skyscrapers downtown,
335
00:39:11,950 --> 00:39:13,637
the adults played golf,
336
00:39:14,236 --> 00:39:17,819
a sport to which the Japanese
have become addicted,
337
00:39:17,939 --> 00:39:22,260
even if only very few ever get the chance
to play on a real golf course.
338
00:39:42,635 --> 00:39:44,423
In some of Ozu's films,
339
00:39:44,543 --> 00:39:48,899
the enthusiasm for this sport
is depicted ironically.
340
00:39:49,019 --> 00:39:51,986
Nevertheless, I was amazed
by the degree
341
00:39:52,106 --> 00:39:55,347
to which it was practiced here
as pure form,
342
00:39:55,467 --> 00:39:58,186
as beauty and perfection of motion.
343
00:39:59,402 --> 00:40:02,713
The real aim of the game,
to get the ball into a hole,
344
00:40:02,833 --> 00:40:04,320
seemed totally abandoned.
345
00:40:06,497 --> 00:40:11,345
I only found a last single
solitary defender of this idea.
346
00:43:03,957 --> 00:43:06,360
I only left the huge
and rattling golf stadium
347
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:08,616
to grab a quick bite to eat.
348
00:43:09,850 --> 00:43:12,423
As always, you could see
all the foods from outside
349
00:43:12,543 --> 00:43:14,777
in the showcase of the restaurant.
350
00:43:16,860 --> 00:43:19,245
Then I headed back to the stadium,
351
00:43:19,365 --> 00:43:21,610
now inundated with floodlight.
352
00:45:01,193 --> 00:45:03,475
In the clubhouse
later that evening,
353
00:45:03,595 --> 00:45:05,553
the day came full circle,
354
00:45:05,673 --> 00:45:07,400
ending with images of baseball.
355
00:45:08,984 --> 00:45:10,856
And since the same imitation food
356
00:45:10,976 --> 00:45:12,702
was on display here as well,
357
00:45:12,822 --> 00:45:16,324
I decided to pay a visit
the next day to one of the places
358
00:45:16,444 --> 00:45:20,230
where these utterly realistic-looking
things were produced.
359
00:46:04,699 --> 00:46:07,413
It all starts
with real food...
360
00:46:07,533 --> 00:46:09,126
over which a gelatinous mass
361
00:46:09,246 --> 00:46:11,492
is poured and then cooled.
362
00:46:20,230 --> 00:46:22,528
The finished molds that result
363
00:46:22,648 --> 00:46:24,186
are filled with wax,
364
00:46:24,306 --> 00:46:25,674
and then these wax forms
365
00:46:25,794 --> 00:46:28,718
are trimmed, painted,
and worked on further.
366
00:46:44,791 --> 00:46:47,347
The wax must be kept warm
all the while.
367
00:46:47,467 --> 00:46:50,630
Other than that, the preparation
of the wax sandwich
368
00:46:50,750 --> 00:46:54,071
is not at all unlike the preparation
of the real one.
369
00:51:32,573 --> 00:51:34,230
I stayed there
the entire day.
370
00:51:35,283 --> 00:51:37,690
The only time
I wasn't allowed to film
371
00:51:37,810 --> 00:51:40,582
was during the lunch break,
which was a shame.
372
00:51:40,702 --> 00:51:43,237
All the employees sat
amidst their wax creations
373
00:51:43,357 --> 00:51:45,541
and ate the food they had brought,
374
00:51:45,661 --> 00:51:49,500
which looked exactly like the imitations
all around them.
375
00:51:49,620 --> 00:51:51,779
You could almost imagine one of them
376
00:51:51,899 --> 00:51:53,940
biting into a wax roll by mistake.
377
00:54:06,728 --> 00:54:08,540
On top of the Tokyo Tower,
378
00:54:08,660 --> 00:54:11,020
I met with a friend of mine -
Werner Herzog -
379
00:54:11,140 --> 00:54:13,589
who was stopping over
in Japan for a few days
380
00:54:13,709 --> 00:54:15,145
on his way to Australia.
381
00:54:15,265 --> 00:54:16,667
We talked.
382
00:54:16,787 --> 00:54:21,270
It's simply true:
there are not many images left.
383
00:54:22,293 --> 00:54:25,626
When I look out here,
I see nothing but buildings.
384
00:54:25,793 --> 00:54:28,501
Here, images have become
almost impossible.
385
00:54:28,668 --> 00:54:33,501
It's as though you have to dig
with a spade like an archaeologist.
386
00:54:34,251 --> 00:54:36,001
And you have to...
387
00:54:37,251 --> 00:54:40,793
You have to try,
in this violated landscape,
388
00:54:40,959 --> 00:54:43,418
to still find something...
389
00:54:44,293 --> 00:54:47,501
Often this requires
taking certain risks,
390
00:54:47,668 --> 00:54:49,584
which I would never shy away from.
391
00:54:49,751 --> 00:54:52,626
And I see that there are
so few people left nowadays
392
00:54:52,793 --> 00:54:57,459
who would be ready to take risks
to relieve our misery
393
00:54:58,001 --> 00:55:00,668
of not having enough
appropriate images.
394
00:55:00,834 --> 00:55:03,168
We absolutely need images
395
00:55:03,334 --> 00:55:06,209
that correspond
to our level of civilisation
396
00:55:06,376 --> 00:55:10,251
and to our inner, deepest nature.
397
00:55:13,334 --> 00:55:16,334
This can oblige us
to go right into a war zone
398
00:55:16,501 --> 00:55:19,084
or wherever necessary.
399
00:55:21,709 --> 00:55:25,334
And I would never complain about
the fact that sometimes it is difficult,
400
00:55:25,501 --> 00:55:27,668
that sometimes
you have to climb 8,000 metres
401
00:55:27,834 --> 00:55:29,668
to reach the top of a mountain
402
00:55:29,834 --> 00:55:34,459
in order to get images that are pure,
clear and transparent.
403
00:55:34,751 --> 00:55:37,168
Here, this is nearly impossible.
404
00:55:37,918 --> 00:55:39,626
You have to search hard.
405
00:55:39,793 --> 00:55:42,626
I would immediately fly
to Mars or Saturn
406
00:55:42,793 --> 00:55:45,584
if there was a rocket
that I could get aboard.
407
00:55:45,751 --> 00:55:50,084
For example there is
NASA's Skylab project,
408
00:55:52,001 --> 00:55:53,293
these space shuttles
409
00:55:53,459 --> 00:55:57,584
that take biologists or engineers,
for example,
410
00:55:57,751 --> 00:56:00,459
to test new technical procedures
in space.
411
00:56:00,626 --> 00:56:03,418
I would like to join them one day
with a camera,
412
00:56:03,834 --> 00:56:08,543
because it is not easy anymore
to find something on this planet
413
00:56:08,709 --> 00:56:12,251
that constitutes
the transparency of images
414
00:56:12,418 --> 00:56:14,584
that once existed.
415
00:56:17,709 --> 00:56:20,001
I would go anywhere for that.
416
00:56:22,211 --> 00:56:24,635
No matter how much
I understood Werner's quest
417
00:56:24,755 --> 00:56:27,128
for transparent and pure images,
418
00:56:27,248 --> 00:56:28,942
the images I was searching for
419
00:56:29,062 --> 00:56:30,882
were only to be found down here,
420
00:56:31,002 --> 00:56:33,389
below, in the chaos of the city.
421
00:56:33,509 --> 00:56:35,061
In spite of everything,
422
00:56:35,181 --> 00:56:38,200
I couldn't help being
impressed by Tokyo.
423
00:56:38,910 --> 00:56:42,361
That afternoon, I went
to the newly opened Disneyland
424
00:56:42,481 --> 00:56:44,702
just outside the city gates.
425
00:56:44,822 --> 00:56:47,451
But the sobering thought
of seeing an exact copy
426
00:56:47,571 --> 00:56:50,418
of the park in California
made me reconsider,
427
00:56:50,538 --> 00:56:51,854
and I made a U-turn.
428
00:56:51,974 --> 00:56:54,544
Moreover, it was pouring with rain.
429
00:56:55,433 --> 00:56:57,563
I didn't regret my decision though,
430
00:56:57,683 --> 00:56:59,301
because in one of the city's parks
431
00:56:59,421 --> 00:57:02,780
I ran into some people
who refused to let a little rain
432
00:57:02,900 --> 00:57:05,230
stop them from being an American.
433
00:57:05,350 --> 00:57:06,295
♪ Rock 'n' roll ♪
434
00:57:06,415 --> 00:57:07,336
♪ Gonna rock, gonna rock ♪
435
00:57:07,456 --> 00:57:09,768
♪ Around the clock tonight ♪
436
00:57:15,020 --> 00:57:16,393
♪ Well, tutti frutti ♪
437
00:57:16,513 --> 00:57:17,513
♪ Aw rootie ♪
438
00:57:17,633 --> 00:57:18,610
♪ Tutti frutti ♪
439
00:57:18,730 --> 00:57:19,642
♪ Aw rootie ♪
440
00:57:19,762 --> 00:57:20,600
♪ Tutti frutti ♪
441
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:21,642
♪ Aw rootie ♪
442
00:57:21,762 --> 00:57:22,641
♪ Tutti frutti ♪
443
00:57:22,761 --> 00:57:24,230
♪ Aw rootie ♪
444
00:57:53,383 --> 00:57:55,980
♪ Don't want no other lover ♪
445
00:57:56,100 --> 00:57:59,967
♪ Baby, it's just you
I'm thinking of ♪
446
00:58:01,680 --> 00:58:03,089
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
447
00:58:38,599 --> 00:58:40,794
♪ Who never ever learned
to read and write so well ♪
448
00:58:40,914 --> 00:58:43,008
♪ But he could play a guitar
just like ringin' a bell ♪
449
00:58:43,128 --> 00:58:44,550
♪ Go, go ♪
450
00:58:44,670 --> 00:58:46,440
♪ Go, Johnny, go, go ♪
451
00:58:59,484 --> 00:59:02,650
♪ Color me your color, baby ♪
452
00:59:02,770 --> 00:59:05,137
♪ Color me your car ♪
453
00:59:08,699 --> 00:59:12,035
♪ Yeah, the name of this dance
is the Peppermint Twist ♪
454
00:59:13,722 --> 00:59:17,035
♪ You like it like this,
the Peppermint Twist ♪
455
00:59:18,810 --> 00:59:22,980
♪ It goes 'round and 'round
Up and down ♪
456
00:59:23,100 --> 00:59:24,680
♪ Summer ♪
457
00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:27,575
♪ We're on safari to stay ♪
458
00:59:27,695 --> 00:59:30,519
♪ Tell the teacher we're surfin' ♪
459
00:59:30,639 --> 00:59:32,506
♪ Surfin' USA ♪
460
00:59:33,447 --> 00:59:34,911
♪ At Haggarty's and Swami's ♪
461
00:59:35,031 --> 00:59:36,193
♪ Inside, outside, USA ♪
462
00:59:36,313 --> 00:59:37,560
♪ Pacific Palisades ♪
463
01:03:35,520 --> 01:03:38,105
That night, I met
the French filmmaker
464
01:03:38,225 --> 01:03:40,831
and cat lover Chris Marker
465
01:03:40,951 --> 01:03:42,150
in a bar in Shinjuku...
466
01:03:43,069 --> 01:03:47,016
a bar bearing the name of one
of his films - La jetée.
467
01:03:47,617 --> 01:03:50,805
Only in the coming days was
I to see his new film:
468
01:03:50,925 --> 01:03:53,084
The beautiful Sans soleil,
469
01:03:53,204 --> 01:03:55,574
in which there are images of Tokyo
470
01:03:55,694 --> 01:03:59,271
inaccessible to the camera
of a foreigner like me.
471
01:04:00,572 --> 01:04:02,581
Like so many photographers,
472
01:04:02,701 --> 01:04:04,993
Chris Marker doesn't like
to be photographed.
473
01:04:05,936 --> 01:04:09,987
But tonight, he did risk
showing an eye after all.
474
01:05:11,354 --> 01:05:12,704
The trains.
475
01:05:13,972 --> 01:05:15,515
The trains.
476
01:05:15,635 --> 01:05:18,870
All the trains in Ozu's films.
477
01:05:18,990 --> 01:05:23,025
Not a single film in which
there isn't at least one train.
478
01:07:06,875 --> 01:07:10,256
Yūharu Atsuta
was the second camera assistant
479
01:07:10,376 --> 01:07:12,646
on Ozu's early silent films,
480
01:07:12,766 --> 01:07:14,754
later his longtime first assistant,
481
01:07:14,874 --> 01:07:17,376
and finally, for almost 20 years,
482
01:07:17,496 --> 01:07:19,117
Ozu's cameraman.
483
01:07:20,354 --> 01:07:23,753
He showed me how Ozu
worked in an interior set.
484
01:07:23,873 --> 01:07:26,519
We were able to get hold
of an old Mitchell,
485
01:07:26,639 --> 01:07:29,752
the very same one Atsuta and Ozu
had actually used
486
01:07:29,872 --> 01:07:31,691
to shoot their last films.
487
01:07:35,709 --> 01:07:38,763
Over the years, Yasujirō Ozu
had simplified
488
01:07:38,883 --> 01:07:41,937
more and more
his visual means of expression.
489
01:07:43,066 --> 01:07:44,811
Whereas in the early films
490
01:07:44,931 --> 01:07:48,179
there are still occasional
tracking shots and pans,
491
01:07:48,299 --> 01:07:50,835
he gradually eliminated even these
492
01:07:50,955 --> 01:07:54,549
until finally he shot
only with a fixed camera
493
01:07:54,669 --> 01:07:58,248
always set at the eye level
of someone seated on the floor
494
01:07:58,368 --> 01:08:01,044
and always fitted
with the same lens...
495
01:08:02,021 --> 01:08:03,400
the 50 millimeter.
496
01:08:08,410 --> 01:08:10,833
"This set-up here
was the standard position
497
01:08:10,953 --> 01:08:13,593
used for a long or medium-long shot",
498
01:08:13,713 --> 01:08:15,295
explained Atsuta.
499
01:08:18,677 --> 01:08:20,336
"For a close-up or medium-close-up,
500
01:08:20,456 --> 01:08:22,952
"the camera position
was always raised.
501
01:08:23,072 --> 01:08:24,785
"The reason for this
was that Ozu wanted
502
01:08:24,905 --> 01:08:27,785
"to avoid image distortion
which would've occurred
503
01:08:27,905 --> 01:08:30,039
"if the camera were kept
in the lower position
504
01:08:30,159 --> 01:08:32,721
"and tilted upwards for the close-up.
505
01:08:32,841 --> 01:08:36,232
"That's why the camera was always
elevated for close-ups,
506
01:08:36,352 --> 01:08:38,102
even if only slightly."
507
01:09:21,882 --> 01:09:24,793
"This was the camera support
designed by Ozu himself",
508
01:09:24,913 --> 01:09:26,651
Atsuta told me,
509
01:09:26,771 --> 01:09:30,293
"in order to achieve the camera
position for exterior shots,
510
01:09:30,413 --> 01:09:34,101
"even lower than the one
permitted by the usual triplex."
511
01:09:45,408 --> 01:09:48,433
"The shortest available tripod
came up to here.
512
01:09:48,968 --> 01:09:51,429
"But Ozu wanted to have
the camera even lower,
513
01:09:51,549 --> 01:09:53,480
"which meant that as a cameraman
514
01:09:53,600 --> 01:09:56,861
"I had to lie on the floor
to look through the viewfinder.
515
01:09:56,981 --> 01:09:58,395
"Then it was advantageous
516
01:09:58,515 --> 01:10:00,795
that we almost never
did any panning."
517
01:10:54,715 --> 01:10:57,002
"When Ozu wanted
to set up a shot"
518
01:10:57,122 --> 01:10:59,217
"and the assistants
had positioned the camera
519
01:10:59,337 --> 01:11:01,212
"according to his instructions,
520
01:11:01,332 --> 01:11:05,562
"Ozu looked through the camera and
very carefully decided on the framing.
521
01:11:05,682 --> 01:11:07,711
"Then he said, 'That's it',
522
01:11:07,831 --> 01:11:11,251
"and the assistants fixed
the camera in this position.
523
01:11:12,339 --> 01:11:16,504
"Once set, nobody was allowed
to touch the camera.
524
01:11:16,624 --> 01:11:18,775
This was an iron-clad rule."
525
01:11:29,959 --> 01:11:33,323
"Then, during
the first few rehearsals,
526
01:11:33,443 --> 01:11:35,691
"Ozu again looked
through the viewfinder,
527
01:11:35,811 --> 01:11:38,778
directed the actors,
and gave them their positions."
528
01:11:39,640 --> 01:11:41,798
"After making final adjustments,
529
01:11:41,918 --> 01:11:43,980
"the camera was secured
once and for all.
530
01:11:45,483 --> 01:11:47,456
"And now was the time
when everyone had to be
531
01:11:47,576 --> 01:11:50,846
"really careful not to bump into it
532
01:11:50,966 --> 01:11:53,793
"and upset the positioning of the shot.
533
01:11:53,913 --> 01:11:56,422
We were really nervous
around the camera."
534
01:12:09,042 --> 01:12:10,618
Atsuta continued:
535
01:12:11,467 --> 01:12:14,770
"Ozu didn't like shooting
exterior shots on location,
536
01:12:15,177 --> 01:12:18,066
"especially when a crowd
of spectators gathered.
537
01:12:18,741 --> 01:12:22,481
"That's why we always did
the exterior shots as fast as we could,
538
01:12:22,601 --> 01:12:24,980
or, if possible,
avoided them altogether."
539
01:12:48,479 --> 01:12:50,555
"Ozu gave me his stopwatch..."
540
01:12:51,447 --> 01:12:53,047
"as a keepsake.
541
01:12:53,167 --> 01:12:55,400
"I'd like to show it to you later.
542
01:12:55,520 --> 01:12:58,289
It's the only remembrance
I have of him."
543
01:13:02,277 --> 01:13:06,074
"The script girl always started
her watch along with Ozu.
544
01:13:07,034 --> 01:13:09,511
"And since we were
filming with sound,
545
01:13:10,052 --> 01:13:11,900
"you could hear the two clicks.
546
01:13:12,458 --> 01:13:16,780
"And every time, the sound engineer
would listen and say,
547
01:13:16,900 --> 01:13:19,446
"'What on earth was that noise?'
548
01:13:20,952 --> 01:13:23,101
"Ozu considered it important
549
01:13:23,221 --> 01:13:26,413
"to time things
as accurately as possible.
550
01:13:26,533 --> 01:13:28,523
"Each take was timed,
551
01:13:28,643 --> 01:13:30,693
"and when we watched the rushes,
552
01:13:30,813 --> 01:13:33,130
the time was taken once again."
553
01:13:48,833 --> 01:13:51,374
"I always used these childish things.
554
01:13:52,055 --> 01:13:54,033
"Isn't that a bit embarrassing?
555
01:13:54,597 --> 01:13:57,919
I was always running around
with a mat like this under my arm."
556
01:13:58,930 --> 01:14:01,122
"It really was a hell of a job."
557
01:14:32,222 --> 01:14:35,675
"This is the stopwatch
which Ozu had specially built.
558
01:14:36,484 --> 01:14:38,609
"He used it all through the years.
559
01:14:39,520 --> 01:14:41,497
"With this watch,
he recorded the times
560
01:14:41,617 --> 01:14:44,531
for every scene, including inserts."
561
01:14:45,719 --> 01:14:48,322
"The red line shows how much
film stock has been shot
562
01:14:48,442 --> 01:14:51,198
"in the standard 35 millimeter format.
563
01:14:51,318 --> 01:14:53,597
"The middle line gives the seconds.
564
01:14:53,717 --> 01:14:57,986
And the third one here indicates
the footage for the 60-millimeter format."
565
01:14:59,952 --> 01:15:02,652
"This stopwatch was important for Ozu
566
01:15:02,772 --> 01:15:05,047
"in order to precisely measure time
567
01:15:05,167 --> 01:15:06,928
"in seconds and in frames.
568
01:15:07,864 --> 01:15:09,551
I wanted you to see it."
569
01:15:44,138 --> 01:15:47,333
Atsuta loaned me the original
of one of Ozu's screenplays
570
01:15:47,453 --> 01:15:48,813
for a few days.
571
01:15:49,529 --> 01:15:53,316
I leafed through it,
reverent and helpless.
572
01:15:53,436 --> 01:15:56,004
I couldn't decipher a single word...
573
01:15:56,124 --> 01:15:57,788
not even the title.
574
01:16:25,631 --> 01:16:27,877
How long were you
his assistant?
575
01:16:31,119 --> 01:16:33,155
"From the beginning to the end.
576
01:16:33,834 --> 01:16:36,692
His camera assistant for 15 years."
577
01:16:44,480 --> 01:16:46,326
And then you became
Ozu's cameraman?
578
01:16:46,446 --> 01:16:47,360
"Yes."
579
01:16:49,976 --> 01:16:51,110
How did that come about?
580
01:16:56,532 --> 01:16:58,722
"Very simply. He said,"
581
01:16:58,842 --> 01:17:01,865
"'From now on, this is
your job. Okay?'"
582
01:17:03,098 --> 01:17:04,850
"He was a man of few words."
583
01:17:07,310 --> 01:17:08,971
"I just said, 'Thank you.'"
584
01:17:12,191 --> 01:17:15,795
"And my gratitude to Ozu
continues to this very day."
585
01:17:25,771 --> 01:17:28,075
"I was the caretaker of the camera...
586
01:17:28,704 --> 01:17:31,268
"and that's not meant
as false modesty.
587
01:17:31,388 --> 01:17:35,280
I was proud to be
the caretaker of Ozu's camera."
588
01:17:37,475 --> 01:17:41,222
"All the more so because
already as an assistant,
589
01:17:41,342 --> 01:17:43,608
"I had come to know and admire him.
590
01:17:43,728 --> 01:17:45,766
"At that time,
all the other assistants
591
01:17:45,886 --> 01:17:48,116
"had long become cameramen...
592
01:17:48,236 --> 01:17:51,559
"and I was still nothing
but the assistant on Ozu's crew.
593
01:17:51,679 --> 01:17:53,629
"One day, he said to me,
594
01:17:53,749 --> 01:17:56,607
"'Since you are going to be
a cameraman sooner or later,
595
01:17:56,727 --> 01:17:58,402
"'why don't you be patient
596
01:17:58,522 --> 01:18:01,423
and become the dog of a big house?'"
597
01:18:03,261 --> 01:18:05,647
"I appreciated his work.
598
01:18:05,767 --> 01:18:08,298
"Many of my colleagues
were making more money.
599
01:18:08,418 --> 01:18:11,480
"Above all, the newsreel cameramen
were very well paid.
600
01:18:12,308 --> 01:18:14,197
"But I stayed where I was.
601
01:18:14,784 --> 01:18:18,041
"I wanted to remain at Ozu's side.
602
01:18:18,161 --> 01:18:19,586
That was my view."
603
01:18:24,642 --> 01:18:28,647
Did you discuss much with Ozu
before you began shooting a film?
604
01:18:29,552 --> 01:18:32,489
"No. I wouldn't say
we had discussions.
605
01:18:33,466 --> 01:18:36,468
"We simply talked together
like always,
606
01:18:36,588 --> 01:18:39,073
"and also not at any great length.
607
01:18:39,193 --> 01:18:42,195
"Anyway, I had little to say to him
608
01:18:42,315 --> 01:18:44,530
"and nothing as regards direction.
609
01:18:45,216 --> 01:18:47,706
"At most, I would ask him things like,
610
01:18:47,826 --> 01:18:50,270
"'What period of time
is covered in the film?
611
01:18:50,390 --> 01:18:52,900
"'A few weeks? A few months?
A year?'
612
01:18:54,338 --> 01:18:57,538
"And that only because of the lighting,
613
01:18:57,658 --> 01:19:00,240
"in order to get an idea
of the seasons.
614
01:19:01,862 --> 01:19:05,289
"Ever since the days when
Ogawa showed his films,
615
01:19:05,409 --> 01:19:08,729
"he never used any lens
other than the 50 millimeter.
616
01:19:09,395 --> 01:19:11,476
"I remember him often saying,
617
01:19:11,596 --> 01:19:15,938
"'Ogawa, why do you keep
suggesting the 40 millimeter?
618
01:19:16,058 --> 01:19:18,934
"You know very well I like
the 50 better.'
619
01:19:19,552 --> 01:19:21,414
"Later, I myself once asked him
620
01:19:21,534 --> 01:19:24,503
"to take a look at a scene
through another lens.
621
01:19:24,623 --> 01:19:25,781
"Just once.
622
01:19:26,913 --> 01:19:29,679
"He peered through
the viewfinder and said,
623
01:19:29,799 --> 01:19:33,012
'Just as I thought -
not as good as the 50.'"
624
01:19:35,298 --> 01:19:38,229
"So I put the good old 50
right back on the camera,
625
01:19:38,349 --> 01:19:40,525
"gnashing my teeth a bit.
626
01:19:40,645 --> 01:19:41,578
"And from that day on,
627
01:19:41,698 --> 01:19:45,370
I, too, never again questioned
the 50 millimeter."
628
01:19:51,336 --> 01:19:53,174
"Using a lens with a wider angle
629
01:19:53,294 --> 01:19:55,550
"increases the image field
on both sides
630
01:19:55,670 --> 01:19:57,604
"and also in terms of height.
631
01:19:59,087 --> 01:20:01,511
"But that just wasn't to Ozu's taste.
632
01:20:02,506 --> 01:20:04,700
"During the time of the silent films,
633
01:20:04,820 --> 01:20:07,674
"I mean, with the change
over to sound,
634
01:20:07,794 --> 01:20:10,252
"the width of the frame
became a bit narrower
635
01:20:10,372 --> 01:20:12,513
"because of the added soundtrack.
636
01:20:12,633 --> 01:20:16,153
"Before, you could use
the entire width of the negative,
637
01:20:16,273 --> 01:20:17,886
"but not anymore.
638
01:20:18,006 --> 01:20:21,530
I think that affected his sense
of image composition."
639
01:20:39,672 --> 01:20:42,405
"He left me in complete charge
of the lighting."
640
01:20:44,632 --> 01:20:46,978
"In the film, there was a father.
641
01:20:47,098 --> 01:20:48,386
"There's a scene near the end
642
01:20:48,506 --> 01:20:51,033
"in which the father dies.
You remember?
643
01:20:51,830 --> 01:20:55,489
"I lit the hospital room
so that it was extremely bright...
644
01:20:55,609 --> 01:20:58,082
"as if the sun were shining in.
645
01:20:58,202 --> 01:21:00,431
"In a place like that, in a hospital,
646
01:21:00,551 --> 01:21:04,780
"one is filled with compassion
when it's lovely outside.
647
01:21:04,900 --> 01:21:08,635
So I had the sunlight pour
in the room with great intensity."
648
01:21:12,046 --> 01:21:14,038
"Ozu turned to me and said,
649
01:21:14,158 --> 01:21:15,589
"'What have you done?
650
01:21:15,709 --> 01:21:16,329
"'Why?
651
01:21:16,449 --> 01:21:18,295
"'That's not bad at all.'
652
01:21:19,233 --> 01:21:22,607
"And I replied,
'To be perfectly honest,
653
01:21:22,727 --> 01:21:26,327
"'I just didn't want to let
the old man die in the dark.
654
01:21:26,447 --> 01:21:28,468
"'I wanted him
to be surrounded by light
655
01:21:28,588 --> 01:21:30,210
at the moment of his death.'"
656
01:21:34,793 --> 01:21:37,189
"'We shoot it exactly like this',
657
01:21:37,309 --> 01:21:39,572
was the praise Ozu gave me."
658
01:21:42,716 --> 01:21:44,824
"In general, he never told me
659
01:21:44,944 --> 01:21:46,586
"what he thought of the shots
660
01:21:46,706 --> 01:21:48,426
"or even if he liked them.
661
01:21:49,138 --> 01:21:51,323
"I never heard Ozu
say something like,
662
01:21:51,443 --> 01:21:53,269
"'That was a good take.'
663
01:21:54,333 --> 01:21:57,149
"At the very most,
a few days later he would say,
664
01:21:57,269 --> 01:21:59,744
"'That wasn't bad at all
the other day.'
665
01:22:00,420 --> 01:22:02,771
Yes, that was typical of him."
666
01:22:07,136 --> 01:22:08,924
"Once he asked me,
667
01:22:09,044 --> 01:22:10,714
"'Do you have a girlfriend?'
668
01:22:10,834 --> 01:22:14,284
"And I said, 'Yes. She has three legs.
669
01:22:14,404 --> 01:22:17,031
"'And I always carry her around
on my back.'
670
01:22:18,390 --> 01:22:20,264
"I was talking about my tripod.
671
01:22:21,416 --> 01:22:23,673
"It became a running joke between us.
672
01:22:24,563 --> 01:22:26,877
"'Your girlfriend, the three-legged one',
673
01:22:26,997 --> 01:22:28,526
"he would tease me,
674
01:22:28,646 --> 01:22:31,678
'She's not so bad-looking.
A real cutie.'"
675
01:22:47,805 --> 01:22:49,603
"I was quite fond of him.
676
01:22:50,289 --> 01:22:53,728
"I had a special feeling for him
right up to his death,
677
01:22:53,848 --> 01:22:55,267
and Ozu knew it."
678
01:22:57,599 --> 01:23:00,829
"I know something like this
might sound a bit strange...
679
01:23:02,243 --> 01:23:05,639
"but I'm probably the only
cameraman in the world
680
01:23:05,759 --> 01:23:08,466
"who remained with one single director
681
01:23:08,586 --> 01:23:11,757
"for such an outrageous
length of time...
682
01:23:11,877 --> 01:23:14,091
"from assistant right to the end.
683
01:23:15,231 --> 01:23:18,358
"No, I don't think anyone else
can make that claim.
684
01:23:19,009 --> 01:23:23,355
To have served Ozu...
that's my pride and joy."
685
01:23:41,694 --> 01:23:44,132
"Interior shots were
always done in a studio,
686
01:23:44,252 --> 01:23:46,067
"never on location.
687
01:23:46,898 --> 01:23:49,852
"The only exceptions
were the train shots.
688
01:23:50,870 --> 01:23:53,770
"Whenever we had to shoot
inside a train...
689
01:23:54,531 --> 01:23:58,475
I always said to Ozu,
'Anything but the studio.'"
690
01:23:59,973 --> 01:24:01,631
"And he accepted that."
691
01:24:03,079 --> 01:24:03,980
"No matter what you do,"
692
01:24:04,736 --> 01:24:07,613
"a train never looks right
in the studio.
693
01:24:08,178 --> 01:24:11,055
"Everything shakes,
and in the wrong way.
694
01:24:12,044 --> 01:24:15,370
"That's why I always wanted us
to film in real trains.
695
01:24:16,272 --> 01:24:19,935
"And you can be sure
that in every post-war film by Ozu
696
01:24:20,055 --> 01:24:22,183
the trains are real ones."
697
01:24:29,962 --> 01:24:33,330
"We always spent a lot of time
scouting for locations.
698
01:24:33,450 --> 01:24:35,230
"But we never used a car.
699
01:24:35,730 --> 01:24:39,068
We went on foot... always on foot."
700
01:24:40,910 --> 01:24:42,904
"There was even a joke about it:
701
01:24:44,207 --> 01:24:48,128
Location scouting is over
only when you pass out."
702
01:25:08,886 --> 01:25:10,887
This will be
the last question.
703
01:25:11,782 --> 01:25:12,579
"Yes."
704
01:25:14,294 --> 01:25:16,082
Did you work with other directors
705
01:25:16,202 --> 01:25:17,877
after Ozu's death?
706
01:25:19,538 --> 01:25:20,910
"Yes, I did."
707
01:25:21,981 --> 01:25:24,828
"But I was completely
miserable on the job.
708
01:25:25,852 --> 01:25:28,829
For a long time, I felt dazed."
709
01:25:30,451 --> 01:25:32,225
"How can I explain it?"
710
01:25:33,574 --> 01:25:35,953
"I continued to work for a while,
711
01:25:36,073 --> 01:25:38,517
"but without any feeling for my work
712
01:25:38,637 --> 01:25:41,358
"or for the director
I happened to be with.
713
01:25:42,230 --> 01:25:44,027
Something was gone."
714
01:25:47,137 --> 01:25:49,347
"Ozu got the best out of me...
715
01:25:50,534 --> 01:25:52,440
"and I gave him my best.
716
01:25:53,781 --> 01:25:55,126
"With the others...
717
01:25:55,958 --> 01:25:58,212
my best was no longer there."
718
01:26:12,401 --> 01:26:14,286
"I'm indebted to Ozu.
719
01:26:15,461 --> 01:26:17,693
Sometimes one feels lonely."
720
01:26:19,508 --> 01:26:20,735
"Leave me now."
721
01:26:22,906 --> 01:26:24,251
"I thank you."
722
01:26:25,588 --> 01:26:28,589
"Yes... one becomes lonely."
723
01:26:30,053 --> 01:26:32,189
"What you call 'spirit',
724
01:26:32,309 --> 01:26:35,363
that can never be explained
to anybody else..."
725
01:26:37,495 --> 01:26:40,475
"That's why... the people,
726
01:26:40,595 --> 01:26:44,134
"the people he worked with,
he cared about them.
727
01:26:45,397 --> 01:26:47,449
"He was more than a director.
728
01:26:48,269 --> 01:26:49,987
"He was like a king.
729
01:26:50,107 --> 01:26:52,457
"Now... at this moment...
730
01:26:52,577 --> 01:26:54,119
he must be pleased."
731
01:26:56,310 --> 01:26:58,574
"I'm just not myself today."
732
01:27:00,882 --> 01:27:02,757
"Please... go now
733
01:27:02,877 --> 01:27:04,696
and leave me here alone."
734
01:27:06,581 --> 01:27:08,127
"I apologize."
735
01:27:09,790 --> 01:27:13,230
"Yasujirō Ozu was a good man."
736
01:29:41,418 --> 01:29:45,060
You're going to be lonely
with all them gone.
737
01:29:45,849 --> 01:29:48,480
It was just so sudden.
738
01:29:49,821 --> 01:29:52,132
She was a headstrong woman,
739
01:29:52,252 --> 01:29:54,450
but if I had known
that this would happen,
740
01:29:54,570 --> 01:29:58,690
I'd have been kinder to her
while she was alive.
741
01:30:00,403 --> 01:30:03,793
Living alone, the days
will seem very long.
742
01:30:03,913 --> 01:30:08,003
Lonely indeed... how sad.
743
01:31:14,043 --> 01:31:19,501
THE END