Ozu's Floating Weeds: a hymn to life from the abyss
Discover why 'Floating Weeds' (1959), Yasujirō Ozu's last great work, shot while his health was in steep decline, has become a cult film.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Floating Weeds: the testament of a genius
Yasujirō Ozu, the Japanese director known for his restrained gaze and low camera angles, shot 'Floating Weeds' in 1959, as his health was falling apart. An alcoholic with ruined lungs, he set out to make a luminous film about travelling actors seeking affection in a changing world. Critics regard it as a peak of his filmography and a lesson in faith in humanity.
From 1934 to 1959: the same story, a new sensibility
The film is a readaptation of his own 1934 silent work. The sound version multiplies the expressiveness: actors playing actors, everything is believable, nothing is superfluous. Ozu returns to his obsessive theme: impossible communication, the desire to be loved.
Cinema that is not for superheroes
While the Marvel universe fills theatres, Ozu offers something else: a story where nobody wins or loses, they only try. One observer sums it up: 'For the superhero universe that always wins, there's already you'. It is not cinema for everyone, but those who enter do not leave unchanged.
Floating Weeds (1959) is a reminder that cinema can be art, even when its maker is at death's door. It is well worth rediscovering.
Yasujirō Ozu, the Japanese director known for his restrained gaze and low camera angles, shot 'Floating Weeds' in 1959, as his health was falling apart. An alcoholic with ruined lungs, he set out to make a luminous film about travelling actors seeking affection in a changing world. Critics regard it as a peak of his filmography and a lesson in faith in humanity.
From 1934 to 1959: the same story, a new sensibility
The film is a readaptation of his own 1934 silent work. The sound version multiplies the expressiveness: actors playing actors, everything is believable, nothing is superfluous. Ozu returns to his obsessive theme: impossible communication, the desire to be loved.
Cinema that is not for superheroes
While the Marvel universe fills theatres, Ozu offers something else: a story where nobody wins or loses, they only try. One observer sums it up: 'For the superhero universe that always wins, there's already you'. It is not cinema for everyone, but those who enter do not leave unchanged.
Floating Weeds (1959) is a reminder that cinema can be art, even when its maker is at death's door. It is well worth rediscovering.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (24 replies).
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