Staying Put vs. Being Left Behind


        I'm really interested so far in the dynamic between the grandparents and their relatives, and how that translates over into their actions. This specifically comes up when Tomi and Isamu are outside in the field. The scene is peaceful and first, the two characters seem like they're talking before Isamu runs off. The bells in the music make it seem whimsical and sweet. Isamu is wandering around, ignoring his grandmother as she talks to him. She questions whether she's still going to be around when Isamu grows up, and she seems so resigned with it. After this, the bells drop away and the violin takes the melody, which serves to make the scene feel much more forlorn. Isamu is very little, so I don't know how much I'd expect him to really get what she's asking, but Tomi already seems distanced from her family, and she's very much aware of this. This is enhanced through much of the scene being shot either from far away, where it's just the silhouettes of the two characters, to close up to Tomi's face. Her thoughts are very present, but any shot with both her and Isamu is distanced. She even gets up and goes over to Isamu, who keeps walking away in the opposite direction. This action feels so purposeful, like she's being forgotten knowingly by her family. Isamu is young, but what he learns is from his parents, who are already distant towards theirs. At first I though that the grandparents were simply accustomed to their ways and were content to stay in the past, but they seem so eager to see what kind of world their children live in. So their connection to past things takes on more of a meaning of being left behind than staying stagnant. Especially since the frustration of their children has shown through so much. With the daughter's mean comments towards Tomi about her size, it's like they're trying to keep their parents separate and in the past. 

Comments

  1. Campbell LozuawayOctober 29, 2021 at 5:52 PM

    "Isamu is young, but what he learns is from his parents, who are already distant towards theirs."

    This is a great observation.

    It reminds me of how people become their parents. We were taught to be the way we are by them. I think this is why so much of this movie hurts so deeply as a viewer--our parents' failings, the things we so disliked in them, often become our own failings. Ozu shows us this.

    In this way, the same pain moves through generations. Healing is hard.

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  2. Krishnan VenkateshNovember 3, 2021 at 9:27 PM

    Beautifully observed, both of you. Small children are in their own worlds, which always seem engrossing enough to them: everything is in front of them. Old people wonder about the world they will be missing: everything will be lost to them soon. This scene is so poignant for that contrast.

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