Japanese Reviews Reviews

Film Review: The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) by Yasujiro Ozu

One of the trademarks of 's family dramas is the remarkably realistic presentation of everyday life in Japan. “” also entails this characteristic, but also moments of comedy that deem the movie quite approachable.

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The film revolves around a childless, middle-aged couple in post-war Japan, Taeko and Mokichi. Taeko is deeply unsatisfied with her wedding, and channels her frustration through behaviour that could be perceived extreme at the time, cheating her husband to go on a trip with friends, or going on trips without notifying anyone. Furthermore, she mocks her husband to her girlfriends every chance she gets. Mokichi on the other hand, seems almost oblivious to his wife's mentality, as he eventually starts frequenting a pachinko parlor run by a former army comrade, along with a young friend, Non. In the middle of this situation is their niece, Setsuko, who does not want to partake in an arranged marriage, despite the protests of her whole family, and uses Taeko and Mokichi's issues to justify her behaviour.

Yasujiro Ozu directs a film that focuses on the issues marriage, as an institution, faced in the post-war Japan era, also highlighting through the concept, the inherent issues Japanese character creates. In that regard, the narrative focuses on the fact that Taeko and Mokichi, and in essence all couples who get together after an arranged marriage, do not really know, and subsequently, do not understand each other. The fact that the two of them are completely different people is wonderfully exhibited through the differences in culinary tendencies (Mokichi likes simple food while Taeko searches for intricacy), which eventually extends to the ways they choose to entertain themselves. These issues become even worse due to the inherent tendency of the Japanese not to talk or communicate in general their feelings to each other, with the film frequently showing that Mokichi has no clue what his wife is thinking and her not bothering to explain.

Ozu's suggestion to this issue is somewhat conservative, as the (kind of) solution appears due to sheer coincidence and after Taeko realizes her husband's character due to his food preferences and particularly the titular dish. In that fashion, Ozu seems to suggest that embracing the mundanity/simplicity of everyday life, understanding each other, and compromising is the way for marriages to move forward. At the same time, though, all these elements have only one direction, from Taeko to Mokichi, which could be interpreted in two ways. Either that women have to understand their husbands and do not ask too much or that embracing the little pleasures in life is the only way to go, a tendency that men in the movie seem to have embraced from the outset, while women have to make an effort to do so.

Setsuko on the other hand mirrors the impact that modernity and in essence, westernization had on women, and particularly their tendencies regarding marriage. The fact that Setsuko follows the men in the pachinko parlor despite the protests of her uncle is quite indicative.

Taeko and Setsuko's behaviour, with the first constantly mocking her husband and the second trying to disobey every “rule” society has impressed upon women, is the main source of comedy in the film, and the one that gives the narrative a rather light essence. and , respectively, are excellent in the portrayal of two radically different characters, with Ozu investing on this difference and communicating it every he can, as through the differences in the way they dress. as Mokichi Satake plays the archetype of the “poor little man” excellently, with the finale actually exemplifying his meager ways, in another social comment by Ozu.

As always, the collaboration of the director with DP Yuuharu Atsuta produces great results, with the framing of the movie being impervious, even though there are no scenes that focus on any kind of impression. On the contrary, everyday life is portrayed with utmost artistry, in one of the trademarks of the duo. Visually, the scene that stands out is the one where the women are sitting together drinking sake in their matching kimonos, in a rather memorable sequence that also is quite meaningful contextually.

The many events that take place in the narrative allow the film to have a relatively fast pace, with Yoshiyasu Hamamura's editing implementing this speed with very precise cuts.

“The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice” is a great sample of Ozu's post-war works, and furthermore, one of his most approachable films.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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