Desser's Chapter

A few comments.

First, I should hasten to note that I assigned this reading because Desser is a recognized expert on Japanese film and Ozu.  But there are certain comments I can make with regard to the reading.

Page 4:  I just want to make sure that you realize that to get the famous shots of people sitting on the floor the lens has to be placed not at eye level, but somewhere in between the eyes and the floor.  I'll show a clip of this in class.

Page 7:  As in most cultures, there are many forms of aesthetics.  I would advise against making blanket statements about "the Japanese aesthetic tradition."  For example, with regard to "theatrical works," there is the austere form of the Noh drama (which is what Desser appears to be referencing here), but there is a huge emphasis on drama and plot elements in many plays in the kabuki and bunraku (puppet theater) tradition.  And some people even find Noh drama to be extremely "dramatic," so to speak.

Page 10:  The sign is not outside Koichi's office.  It's at the train station, and it gives directions to get to his office from the train station.  Which brings me to a point: we never see Koichi's house from the exterior, and we only have glimpses of Shige's store from the exterior.  We see Noriko's apartment building, which is called a "danchi" and is a very common structure that was built--inexpensively and poorly--in large numbers after the war to replace all the housing that was bombed to smithereens/burned to ashes by the Americans. Did you notice that Noriko's apartment doesn't even have a sink?  Let alone a toilet or bath.

Page 12: There are some fascinating things going on in the film that make perhaps oblique references to the past, including the Pacific War.  For example, the shot of Osaka Castle.  The main building (as seen in the photo) was burned down in 1665 and rebuilt--in ferro-concrete!--in 1931, the first year of the Pacific War. So beyond being a symbol of Osaka, it also has some intriguing resonances with Japanese history (and by extension, identity).

Page 15: Desser makes some very important comments about the cinematographic "space" in this film.  I would add another phenomenon that I find utterly fascinating--one that was referenced in some discussion board posts.  What I mean is the really unique shot of an individual in a conversation.  When it's a person's turn to speak, the shot will start with a side-view of the person's face, and then the person would turn slowly to face the camera, and then start speaking.  There is something incredibly beautiful, elegant, and moving about this shot.