Sunday, May 13, 2018

The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice

The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a 1952 Japanese film about the change in people's lives as post-war Japan becomes more westernized. It's directed by Yasujirō Ozu. I'm glad my marriage is a happy one, unlike the couple in this film. This couple comes to a better understanding in their middle years than they ever had as young people, though, and it's lovely to see them better realize the virtue of their marriage. This is a beautiful story.

via Youtube:


The New York Times says,
What we see of Japan in 1951 and 1952 defines the time in a fashion I am not sure I would have been as aware of had I seen the film in 1952. It is a world only seven years removed from Hiroshima. Nobody in an Ozu film, seems directly affected by the American occupation, but the American influence is everywhere, in second-hand clothes, in cigarettes, in the liberation of women.

The Chicago Reader says, "Ozu's delicate melodramas ... avoid any sense of cliche in their restrained, sometimes painfully subtle study of family relationships." Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 87%.

6 comments:

  1. I need to check this out. We talked about how Japan had changed since the war, and the war itself. It seems so many of us had relatives who fought the Japanese and at our age, it is something that crosses the mind. But those ages are fading, and so it was a good discussion. I will be watching this. Happy mother"s Day to you! Hugs-Erika

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    1. The westernization is striking just in the clothes people wore so soon after the war.

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  2. I want to see this one. I have a friend who lived and worked in Japan for awhile, so I want to see how times and customs have changed.

    Happy Mother's Day, too. I hope your children remembered you today.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it. I follow a youtube channel of a Californian who lives in Japan now, and the similarirties and differences in the cultures are interesting.

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  3. Sounds intriguing and insightful 😁. Thanks for the recommendation and have a great day! J 😊 x

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    1. I tend to like Japanese films, and this one was such an interesting look into this marriage.

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