DONALD RICHIE

Yasujiro Ozu:
The Syntax of His Films
In the Autumn issue of Sight and Sound, T o m Milne surveys Olru's work
o n the basis of a series of films recently seen in London. Five Olru jZms will
shortly tour the United States (Late Spring, Tokyo Story, Early Spring, Good
Morning, and Late Autumn) and the following stylistic analysis explicates
some of the methods we will soon be able t o observe in these pictures.
With Ozu, as with Antonioni or Resnais, the a film as a carpenter makes a house. The fin-
critic may speak of grammar, of vocabulary, of ished object one may measure, one may in-
syntax-something which one cannot do with spect, one may compare. But within this object,
Mizoguchi, with Bergrnan, or even with Tmf- as within the house, lives the human, the
faut, intuitive directors all. Ozu is not an in- immeasurable, the nonfunctional. I t is this
tuitive film artist, he is a master craftsman; for combination of the static and the living, of
him, film is not expression but function. In an form and content, which makes the films of
Ozu film, as in Japanese architecture, you can Ozu the compelling emotional experiences they
see all the supports, and each support is as are and, at the same time, the wonderfully
necessary as any other. He uses neither paint hand-tooled containers which they also are.
nor wallpaper; he uses natural wood. He makes
12 OZU
GRAMMAR apprehendable, and perhaps for the more
Ozu, like Antonioni, knows that plot is worth- metaphysical reason of its being circular: a
less because it is manipulated. It is life used balanced, continuous geometrical form con-
and consequently untrue: life must at least genial to the hun~wn mind. The sequence in
appear to be gratuitous to appear true. Anton- Ozu is the paragraph (the Ozu film has no
ioni believes that "the episode is the only fit "chapters") and ~vithin these paragraphs the
unit for film" and this Ozu too believes-with shot becomes the "sentence."
the difference that he believed it thirty years STRUCTURE
before Antonioni did. For this reason, though Just as the sequence in Ozu is circular, so is
the chronicle of an Ozu picture is fairly the basic form of the entire picture. It would
straightfor~vard, you cannot make a prhcis. be difficult to find an Ozu film that did not
Everything Ozu-like evaporates if you merely end where it began-though such an atypical
tell the story, for the reason that story (or, picture ~vould be Soshun (Early Spring
more often, merely anecdote) is but a pretext 1956). Often, indeed, this effect of form
for the film, the real reason for which is reve- becomes "formal," even-in the best sense-
lation of character. Ozu therefore restricts mannered. The neighbor lady appears t~vice
content ( a plot is an indulgence-it is too in Tokyo Story (Tokyo Rlonogatari-1953),
easy) and, in the same way, he restricts his once in the first reel, and once in the last. In
technique: hence his celebrated avoidance of the first the old couple is preparing their trip
these elements of film grammar which other and she comments upon it; in the last reel the
directors find indispensable. Dissolves are wife is dead, the husband \\rill remain ~vhere
"cheating"; fades are "merely attributes of the he is alone (the opposite certainly of travel)
camera"; dollies, pans, etc., are "uuiuterest- and this too she obliquely comments upon.
ing." The only punctuation which Ozu allo\vs O h y o : (Good Jlorning-1959) like its an-
himself is the simple cut; the only camera cestor, Umareta a JIita Keredo, (1 was Born,
position, that of the person seated upon tata- Btrt . . . (-1932) ends precisely where it
mi, his eyes about three feet from floor level, began and the adventures of the little boys
the traditional attitude for talking, for watch- (very meaningful in the latter film; merely
ing, for listening. He allolvs himself three comic in the former) count for nothing other
kinds of shots-the classical three of primitive than the emotional experience which they give
cinema, i l ) The long shot is used to show us. In most Ozu films the structure presumes
solitude, precisely because it isolates; or hu- this "return" and it is this ~vhich makes the
mor, for it isolates and makes apprehendable; final reels of these pictures so compelling. The
or aesthetic beauty, because it gets us far idea of the "return" (like the idea of the cir-
enough from it to see it all. ( 2 ) The middle cle) is something which all of us find emo-
shot, the standard unit of the Ozu film, is the tionally compelling-a somewhat common, if
"business" unit during ~vhichmost of the ac- not vulgar, example of its great filmic effect is
tion occurs. ( 3 ) The close-up, used for height- in the two celebrated 180" pans (before and
ened moments, either with or without dia- after hlicheline Presle's death) in LC Diable
logue, is used rarely and never allowed to a u Cor))s. Musically, it is more instantly appre-
enlarge itself into the "big" close-up. Each hendable. The master of the "return" is
shot has its place within the sequencc and the Mozart, because of the freshness, the surprise,
order of the sequence is usually 1 - 2 - 3 - 2 - the astonishing "newness" of the sound when
1. Musically, it is the a-b-a pattern, simple he completes the return in a rondo. For one
binary form, one of the most immediate and thing we are back in the home key, always a
satisfying formal experiences possible, through grateful feeling; and for another we return
reason (in films as in music) of its being firmly home (as in the finale of the Jupiter) doubly
 OZU
13
enriched; we are surprised by the new beauty the city, many more workers going into a
of the familiar. The formal parallel to Ozu is larger station; and, the third, Tokyo Station
precise because the effect is never merely for- itself, with literally thousands of men going to
mal, the "return" is not contrived (as it is all their offices. Thus we are bodily moved and a t
too often in the pictures of, say, John Hus- the same time are shown something relevant
ton), nor is it for its own effect (as in Carni.), to the ethos of the film, which is concerned
an aestheticism for its own sake. Rather, with with the anonymous life of one of these work-
true art, that art which hides art, Ozu tri- ers. It is telling, too, that in these three shots
umphs in making this necessary formal device Ozu deliberately chose for the second a loca-
appear natural. Perhaps the main reason for tion which is actually in a direct line from the
this is that the structure of the Ozu film first location. It ~vouldbe possible to see this
appears so logical-there is a definite reason if you yourself actually took the train trip.
for each shot. Even in Antonioni (who short- Ozu never lies about geography, unlike any
ened L'ilooentrrra himself) shots and sequen- other film director now alive. The taxi-ride in
ces may be removed. Remove one shot from the first reel of Ochazukc no Aji (The Flavor
an Ozu picture and you damage it irreparably. of Green Tea Ooer Rice-1952) is literal, the
The logic which controls the structure is re- visual continuity outside the window is just as
sponsible for this. Take, for example, the it really would be; the train-ride to Tokyo in
extremely logical way which Ozu \vill move us the opening reels of Banshun is chronologi-
from one sequence to another. He feels it cally accurate; so is the hiking trip in Soshun
important that we keep our bearings, that we -first the island of Enoshima in the back-
do not get lost. In Akibiyori (Late Autumn- ground and then Ozu computes his time and
1960), as in most Ozu films, there is, at the for the next shots the walkers are passing the
beginning of a sequence, a "still" shot showing oddly-shaped rock which only a person famil-
either the location (the bridge) or the place, iar with this coast would know is precisely
the wall on which there is a picture of a where he shows it to be. This logical concern
bridge and over which are the ripples of for geography is worth commenting upon
reflected water from the river) or the particu- because it is a strong indication of the scrupu-
larity ( a n object in the room itself, a lamp or lousness of Ozu-a quality which is most
a single vase) - we always know where we noticeable in his treatment of character, and
are. This is true even if great distances are in his editing.
involved: the Kyoto sequence of Banshrrn EDITING
(Late Spring-1949) begins with a "still" shot All of Ozu's technique has only one object
of typical and unmistakable Kyoto hills; in -the revelation of character. His waiting, lis-
Tokyo Alonogatari, the cities of Onomichi, tening camera records, not the heights of emo-
Tokyo, Atami, and Osaka, are always intro- tion but those moments, those signs, which
duced by, respectively, still shots of, the strait both precede and come after such moments-
and the graveyard, factory chimneys, the these little tropisms through which true emo-
wharf and beachfront, and Osaka Castle. tion is to be apprehended. The "portraits"
Often these make a comment on the film (as which he thus achieves of character are typi-
does the Onomichi graveyard); thus in cal of the richness of Ozu's world: the fathers
So.rhun, in order to get us from the suburbs to alone at the end of Tokyo Afonogatari, Hitori
downto\vn Tokyo, we are given three shots: Mtrstrko (The Only Son-1936), Tokyo Bosh-
the first shows the suburbs, a few men in okrr (Tokyo Twilight-1936), or Higanbana
white shirts (in Japan an office worker actual- (Equinox Flower-1958); the pleasure of the
ly is a "white-collar" worker) ~valkingto the mother listening to the radio in Higanbana, of
station; the second shows, somc\vhere nearer the father in the train in the same film, of the
 ozu
Ozu places his cut after the emotional point
and not the anecdotal point of the scene is
made-and he almost never cuts directly from
either dialogue or action. Tactfully, he waits
for his characters to fall into repose. Only in
moments of great emotion (which he must
show), weeping in Bamhun and Tokyo Mon-
ogatati, the completely atypical "romantic"
kiss in Soshun, does he cut from action, and
The married couplc (Ryo Ikebe and then out of a sense of discretion-like that
Chikage Awoahima) in SOSHUN. discreet moment when Antonioni's camera can
no longer bear to watch the protagonists of La
father at the Noh drama in Bamhun-one Notte and consequently turns away. O m re-
could continue such a list indefinitely. But one fuses to "take advantage" of his characters in
of the ways in which he controls this presenta- the way that most directors are only too
tion is in his placement of the cut. Just as he delighted to do. His scrupulousness is extreme
refuses to use (for to use is to misuse) plot or and the placing of the cut within the body of
story and so falsify his film, so he refuses to the picture shows this. Again, like Mozart, he
use dialogue, to use character study. Both knows precisely when to end.
serve their function but both appear to be gra-
tuitous. Within the a-b-a pattern of the O m TEMPO
sequence, the cut can occur some time before Om's time is not clock-time, it is psycholog-
the story point is made and, also, some time ical time, and he will give any length so long
after it has been made. Most directors allow as there is a point of character involved. But
their characters only enough time to contri- such revelation of character need not be
bute one more link in the story-chain and will direct. Om's films are almost as noteworthy
then efficiently but also ruthlessly clip off for what they leave out as for what they
their film-life in the interests of such abstract include. His treatment of time as a continuum,
considerations as story-continuity or what is for example: in Bamhun the daughter visits
called a tight film. By contrast Om's scrupu- her friend, then they go to another room but
lousness is astonishing, as is his tact. Neces- the camera remains behind and its only osten-
sary dialogue will be given but will occur only sible reason is to watch the clock (in the back-
in the center (the "b" section) of the ground) and to listen to it strike four o'clock;
sequence. The 1959 Ukigwa (Floating Weed) at the beginning of Akibiyon' (the scene is in
is filled with marvelous examples of this but a temple) the characters leave, but the cam-
perhaps the most perfect is the very long Noh- era remains to listen for the striking of a gong
watching in Bamhun. There is a point to be (meaning that funeral services are about to
made (silently: the daughter sees her father start), then there is a cut to the temple where
nod in greeting to the woman she suspects we see the second stroke of the gong; in
will become her stepmother) but it only occu- Tokyo Monogatan' just before the very touch-
pies about a half-minute of this four-minute ing scene between mother and daughter-in-
scene. The rest of the time we watch the law, the camera places itself in the outside
father, his pleasure, his delight in the Noh. comdor (a geographically-placing shot) and
Both before and after the anecdotal point of listens to ten of the strokes of midnight, only
the scene, the camera stays with the father entering the room with the characters in time
whose supreme delight, and our delight in his, for the final two strokes. Om, it will be appar-
is the real, the emotional point of the shot. ent, observes chronological time only for its
OZU 15

psychological effect-the effect upon his char- tion the all-important dead mother in Banshun
acters and upon us. In the same way he will until the final reel is just as astonishing, and
interrupt or punctuate clock-time. This is seen just as right, as Antonioni's apparent lack of
mostly in his placing shots. I n Soshun there curiosity as to what happened to Anna in
are five identical set-ups (the outside of the L'Avvcntura.) And when a person dies in
couple's house) and each is held for at least Ozu's world (which is often) they are merely
fifteen seconds. These perform the double and instantly gone. There are no ghosts in
function of "placing" us geographically and, at Ozu as there are in Resnais and Bergman.
the same, indicating that "an amount" of time The past barely exists in Ozu. Tokyo Monoga-
has passed. The "actual" time of scenes which tari is about the natural advisability of forget-
are chronological is rarely interrupted- ting the dead (daughter-in-law forgets dead
though it occasionally is, as in Soshun where, husband; old man will forget dead wife) just
perhaps in order to induce an actual feeling of as much as L'Avventwa is about the horror
alienation which is one of the moral points of which Claudia and Sandro feel at forgetting
the scene, Ozu cuts from the middle of the Anna. The difference is that Ozu's people
mah-jong scene out into the empty corridor accept this from the beginning and Monica
before returning us again to the (unintermpt- Vitti (in both L'Awentura and L'Eclisse)
ed) game they are playing. must "learn" to accept-she does not know
There is another kind of tempo in Ozu's this truth. The length of her education is the
films, however, and this is within the length of the film. Too, Ozu would not be
sequence itself. The order is almost invariable concerned with a tableau at the end which
and put into musical terms it would be: contrasted Sandro with a blank wall and
Claudia with a dormant, or dead, volcano.
1. the placing shot, often largo
with no one in it; or, the es- SCENE
The reason is that Ozu has also refused him-
tablishing (long) shot, with
self what has now become the most popular
characters in repose:
way through which directors may directly com-
2. people; or, preliminary moderato assai
action: ment: the placement of people within a scene.
3. dialogue-the "anecdotal" allegro When Ozu photographs his people from the
point: back, or shows them facing opposite direc-
4. the point made, the "aft- allegretto tions, it does not necessarily mean a direct
ern talk, often humorous: comment, as it would in Bergman, in Fellini,
5. the return to repose and/ poco a poco in Ichikawa. People kneeling side by side
or the final and/or next larghetto mean nothing beyond the image itself-just as
placing shot: those who read symbols into Ozu's work (the
dropped apple peel, the final shot of the sea
Just as the visual form is the binary a-b-a, so in Banshun) are on the wrong track. Direct
the temporal form is slow-fast-slow. Each comment, symbolic scenes-these are alien
sequence may follow this pattern precisely to a director of Ozu's sensitivity precisely be-
because the sequence pattern is not the story cause they constitute an unfair comment on
pattern. Though the length may vary, the bal- character-unfair because they are the kind of
ance of the sequence is usually the same. One comment which attempts to sum up some-
of the reasons Ozu can do this is that he is not thing as complicated as a character with some-
concerned with the past-only with the pres- thing as simple as a symbol. Ozu prefers some-
ent. His characters, no less than Antonioni's, thing more subtle-the still-life. The hanging
are living in the now, and they have no his- lanterns in the later Ukigusa, the flower-
tory (certainly Ozu's purposeful failure to men- arrangements of Higanbanu, the single vase in
 16 OZU

the darkened room in Banshun-what do as that upon the characters. This is one of the
these mean? They are apparently still-lives, reasons for the flavor of the Ozu film. He is
objects, ~hotographedfor their own beautiful not concerned with action. H e is concerned
sakes. This is not true, however. Take the with reaction. Ozu almost never makes a
vase, for example. Father and daughter (soon "story" point visually; he makes it verbally, in
to part since she will get married) are going the dialogue. And he almost never makes a
to bed. They talk about what a nice day they "character point" verbally; he makes it visu-
had (and Ozu very carefully refrains from ally. Did the old people in Tokyo Monogntari
their saying that it is their last day together- have a good time on their trip? They say they
as it is) and then the daughter asks a question did; their children say they did; everyone
in the darkened room, lying next to her father, appears to believe that they did-and proba-
and gets no answer. From here on: a shot of bly this is sincere, everyone (including them-
the father asleep, a shot of the daughter look- selves) agreed to think that they did. This is
ing at him; a shot of the vase in the alcove, one of the points of the story. Yet, we know
and over it one hears the gentle sounds of the the truth. W e have been shown it rather than
father's snoring; a shot of the daughter, half- told it, we have read it in their faces-we
smiling; a long shot of the vase, almost ten know it by having seen everything they have
seconds; a shot of the daughter, her mood seen and then seen their faces. W e have been
entirely changed, near tears. The vase serves seduced into comparison-and this is the func-
the function of pivot. It means nothing in tion of the scene in Ozu's pictures.
itself (except perhaps repose, sleep); it is,
rather, a pretext, a reason for an amount of Ozu's method, like all poetic methods, is
elapsed time, an object, something to watch, oblique. He does not confront emotion, he sur-
during which the feelings of the daughter prises it; he restricts himself precisely in order
change. I t is difficult to say why this is more to achieve ~ r o f u n d i t ~in, order to transcend
satisfying than would be the ordinary way of these limitations; liis formality is that of poe-
doing it-our actually watching the change on try, a context which surprises and hence
the daughter's face. Perhaps the reason is that destroys habit and familiarity, returning to
Ozu imposes a kind of impersonality, a kind each word, to each image, a freshness which
of coolness, between the daughter and our- was its originally. In all this Ozu is very close
selves. Not by seeing her but by seeing what to the srtmi-c ink-drawing masters of Japan, to
she sees ( a vase, alone, solitary, beautiful) we the haiku poets, and this the Japanese some-
can more completely, more fully comprehend what dimly understand, calling Ozu "the most
and hence feel what she herself is feeling. Japanese of all Japanese directors." Ozu's cine-
Again and again in Ozu this technique occurs matic syntax is as it is because he has found
(in the Noh-watching scene from the same through trial and error (as have all master
film, you watch a good portion of the Noh craftsmen) that it best creates the container,
itself-even after it is over, the next shot, a the structure, which must best contain, must
placing shot with trees, carries under it the best present, must best preserve this revelation
music of the Noh) and we feel by objectively of human character because it is human char-
sharing the object of the emotion and not by acter, these observations which are moral
subjectively observing this mere emotion upon because they are true.
the face of the character.
This is a kind of impressionism in that Ozu
brings us both the impressions and the things
which created them, combining them in nuch
a way that the impression upon us is the same