Video from YouTube user Alex Post
Originally written on October 25, 2012.
Part three of a three-part "weekly" series. This was the paper that convinced me to begin this series as it was the first time I remembered that I was enthusiastic throughout the entire process about writing a paper on a movie I didn't expect to love. We were told in our Intro to Film class not to evaluate the movie directly and only make an argumentative assessment as to what the film ultimately means. I can already mention that this will be a difficult film to watch simply because it is not like many of the contemporary films we see nowadays. I can't explain why that is and even after watching the film twice for the paper, I don't think I explained my reaction understandably and why the film had a profound effect on me on how I will approach my projects in the future, much like my masterpiece, Awkward Arley. I will admit that the other reason I'm posting this is because it was the first essay I wrote and turned on time that received an A-. For that achievement alone, I think it is appropriate to post this although it won't make sense to those who have not seen the film, Early Summer. If you have two hours to spare, please watch the movie and give it a chance. It might just surprise you.
Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, 1951) introduces a different interpretation of the household, distancing it from the saccharine fantasy depicted in many US films and instead presenting something that demands interpretation. The film explores the dynamics of the Mamiya family, all living together in the same house for many years. Although it introduces the family as though they are emotionally close, we begin to understand how there is a disconnect in their understanding of the world and in each other. Not only is there emotional distancing between the different family members but also in the film itself within the visible screen space.
In the opening sequence [2:31-5:31], a dog runs along the beach just as the waves are rolling in. The waves continue to roll by for a few moments until the film cuts to a bird chirping in a cage. Not long after, the film cuts to birds in two cages, each noticeably distant from the other. Here, we are first introduced to a room of the Mamiya house is devoid of anything except the birdcages and the interior walls. We jump cut to Grandpa making tea in another room and later on to the table where the family is eating breakfast. The film jump cuts to an extreme long shot of the breakfast table, right when Grandpa takes his seat.
The beach is a constant theme in Early Summer that refers back to isolation. We refer back to the opening scene "[2:31-2:41] where we see the waves approaching the shore where there is a little dog that wanders back and forth along the shoreline until it walks off-screen." Without any kind of prior knowledge, we are immediately presented with a lone puppy that does not seem to know where it is going. With only the waves rolling by as the only sound we hear, it is an unsettling opening that establishes the tone the rest of the film has with regards to emptying the space and thinking about what is missing. The ocean can also be seen as a meditative device that anchors the viewer into trying to piece together all of the relationships that we are introduced to later on. We get this impression later on when the film shows us "the waves approaching the shore until the film cuts abruptly to a bird in a cage [2:41-2:51]". The ocean becomes an emotional release that simplifies the confusing nature of the film yet also acknowledging how it remains an important element throughout the film. In both ways, the ocean has both observations of isolation: as a potentially dangerous choice or as an occasional necessity. The ocean is represented again "at [1:11:42-1:12:09] when the kids walk along the road, frustrated at their father for not buying their train tracks." The scene makes us focus on how their thought process isolates them from the adults' and how the kids have knowingly endangered themselves by leaving their home.
The use of framing in Early Summer is its own unconventional device that further establishes the isolation within the screen space. After the waves, "[3:00-3:08] the film jumps right to the bird cage and has on a match on action shot related to sound as the bird chirping leads to the next shot of the other two bird cages." A striking detail is how one of the cages is shone in the bright light and the other cage is out of focus and covered in darkness. In this brief shot, we notice how the film chooses to keep certain things in and out of focus that at once balances the shot within the frame but also leaves with the impression of a seemingly empty house. The moment is brief but it forces the viewer to look very closely and understand exactly where in the house we currently are. The film repeats this shot only a few moments later when Isamu's brother goes to the hallway to get pickles for Noriko. If it was not for the innocent traditional music that begins playing and establishes the house as a friendly place, this scene would be much more unsettling. As the perspective is shifted at a diagonal perspective and the focus of the frame is on the characters, leaving the defined lines of the entrances and hallways as unusual elements that further distance ourselves from the characters. In the "breakfast scene [4:17-4:30], the camera completely changes direction and opts to have Noriko facing away from the camera", which is a startling moment for a viewer expecting to see both faces. By doing this, we can only imagine what facial expressions Noriko is making even if Noriko's character seems to be a predictably optimistic one from the first sight. What's more unusual is how we do not really know who any of the characters are in the beginning and how we can easily confuse their roles with other characters.
Unlike contemporary films of this day and age that overuse closeups and extreme closeups to emphasize character interactions, Early Summer challenges the viewer to make our interpretations as to what the family is thinking and doing. Much like the film's opening, we are instantly dropped into the household with few details other than the ones we can assume at first sight. There's very little camera movement in Early Summer, or at least, very dramatic camera movement such as a tracking shot that follows the characters around. Instead, the film opts for having many cuts of a character entering and leaving rooms but leaving the camera fixed at one point, at a low height and at a straight-on angle. In fact, the camera seems to jump around from room to room and remains fixed in one place although it occasionally moves closer to the characters but only when it seems necessary and does not abuse it as often as contemporary films do nowadays. Likewise, the idea of having separate rooms can be interpreted as individual spaces that further establish the seclusion that is represented in the film. Later on, the camera sits at a low height and begins moving into the room, emphasizing how the film tends to jump around scene to scene once a certain shot has fulfilled its purpose. In each individual shot, we are only given a small glimpse of each room. This further distances us from the characters and we are left only to observe their actions which could be as inconsequential as going from one room to the next to later in the film when Noriko runs up to her room and cries at the thought of leaving her family behind. In a way, the individual shots are secluded thoughts or concepts that the characters seems to jump in and out of them, seeming to casual interact with the space that we pay very close attention to.
It’s also interesting to acknowledge how many other moments of story space the film decides to not show us. One such example is after we have learned about the family's desires for Noriko to get married; she casually mentions how she will be going to her friend's wedding. In another film, we would've seen Noriko at the wedding and her emotional response to being at the ceremony and comparing to her situation but in Early Summer, the only reference we get of that wedding is the cake Noriko brings back home. Another supposedly important moment is when the kids run away from home after Koichi hits them for misbehaving. Instead of focusing on searching for the kids, instead we see Koichi and Kenkichi playing poker and talking about their lives and later receiving a phone call, keeping the focus only on the characters rather than a potentially unfulfilling moment that distracts the viewer from the overall focus of the plot. The film makes us focus on the many perspectives of all of the characters but never forces us a message on us and never designates which character is right or wrong. The movie is about life. Later on, we see the kids complaining to their father Koishi about bringing home bread when they thought Koichi would get tracks for their train set. The children are focused on having the attention solely on themselves and getting whatever they want. It's understood that the kids could also be a form of comic relief when the film becomes dramatic. As the film goes on, we're presented with the lifestyle and differences in ideology from what we're used to seeing. The emotions of the characters aren't clearly defined or spoken out loud. It might bother us to see the other characters hoping for 28-year old Noriko to suddenly find a person to marry and being aware of the pressure given to her by her family until we remember when the film was created: 1951, 6 years after the end of World War II and the catastrophic damage done to Japan and we can begin to understand where the pressure is coming from. Throughout the film, we get many references to the hardships the family has gone through such as when Noriko and her sister are eating cake and they recognize what the value of cake is compared to something they would actually need. Another example of the film's unusual way to portray life shortly after the breakfast scene when Noriko waits at the train station and talks with her childhood friend, Kenkichi, who she will end up getting engaged to later on. There is an extreme long shot of the train moving from the right side of the frame to the left with the music from the title sequence playing again.
Unlike many other films that focus on having an overall conflict that pushes forth the direction of the film, Early Summer isn't as forceful with its own narrative. Early Summer becomes a more complicated film than we give it credit for. In its portrayal of the family dynamic as an isolated space rather than something picturesque, the film includes another depth of meaning to its already complicated ideal. The characters wear different kinds of clothing that confuse us into understanding what time period we are currently in the film but after a while we begin to realize how unimportant that kind of thinking is. If we wanted to explain the plot of the film very succinctly, we would be doing a disservice to the meaning of the film. Early Summer is a mysterious film that forces us to closely examine the characters in a way that is not encouraged in other contemporary films.
Works cited:
Early Summer. Dir. Yasujiro Ozu. Perf. Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake. Shochiku, 1951. DVD.
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