Good Morning

The appeal of this film for U.S. audiences lies in the incredible contrast between middle-class living here and in Japan. They are packed like sardines in the suburbs of Tokyo, yet seem perfectly content with that. No one ever knocks, they just walk in, slip off their shoes and call out "Anyone home?". Makes me shiver. The film revolves around the veneer of politeness that exists in such situations. Under the surface, everyone suspects everyone else and conversations among neighbors play out like that old game telephone tag. Two of the children in this suburb are desperate to watch TV, a new thing at that time, and beg their parents to own one, which they refuse because of the expense. The children are scolded and take a vow of silence to prove their point. As you can imagine, silence ends up being much more effective than talking. Yasujiro Ozu has a very simple touch; there's really just the story and not much else, but that doesn't deter from the effect of the film. The most amusing thing for me was a portrayal of what was considered a "bad woman" in the suburbs. She wore red and listened to jazz music -- gasp!

original title: Ohayô
year: 1959
length: 94 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053134/combined