Example Of Movie Review On A Story Of Floating Weeds

‘A Story of Floating Weeds’ was a film produced in 1934. The film was directed by Yasujiro Ozu and was later replayed in the year, 1954. The 86 minutes long film creates an atmosphere filled with strong and deep emotions. Much of the running time of this film is used up on routine activities, but every scene serves its own purpose in bringing out the themes of this film.
The story is about a travelling troupe of Kabuki actors and their leader Komajuro. It explores on the relationships of Komajuro with his troupe, former mistress, and his unknowing son. The setting is in a village that lies near the sea, and this provides a perfect atmosphere that sets off the films plot very effectively. An aging Komajuro goes back to his old town together with his troupe and starts seeing his former lover, and his son who only recognizes him as his uncle. His current lover knows about it and they confront which results to heartbreak for everyone.
His current mistress plans on a revenge mission to get back at Komajuro. The mistress hires a young beautiful actress to seduce Komajuro’s son but they both end up falling in love genuinely. On learning about the love affair the father gets enraged and in the process his true identity is known. There is a dispute between the father and his son which leads to the father leaving the village where they meet with his troupe lover at the railway station and reconcile. The last scene of the film shows the train leaving for Kuwana.
The setting of the movie is automatically Japanese but its approach to the story, and also it character makes the film look universal, breaking free of the bounds of time and place. The characters are of an amazing choice of theatrical kind and local villagers. Many of them are depicted having high skill and sensitivity painting even the artless of them full of knowledge. Sumiko is presented as one of the most captivating characters, but still Komajuro is good too.
Siting two particular scenes from the film are the strong disagreement in the rain and the meeting at the train waiting station show how the two characters complement each other. The scene in the rain is a good setting for the cast’s dialogue and actions. In the railway station scene, the two express strong feelings to each other in the most economical and sufficient means. The two scenes can be interpreted to bring out the themes of male-female relationship, family ideas and reconciliation.
In the 1958 review, the film takes place during a hot summer contrary to the rain filled first play. The troupe arrives by ship in the town and Komajuro goes to see her former mistress where the rest of the troupe starts to advertise their kabuki presentations. The rest of the plot follows as the old one.
The main message of the film is that of family ideas. This broad message is inclusive of family relationship, relationship of an individual with the society and other individuals and molarity. The film revolves around Komajuro, his son’s mother, Sumiko and Kiyoshi his son and the relationships between them.
The film revolves around several themes with the major one being about family dissolution. The film ends with Komajuro being torn away from his wife and son and the mother of his son are not at very good terms with the son. The whole film is melancholic, and it ends contrary to the audience expectation of a reunion between the father and the son.
The issue of immorality within the society is also addressed. This is depicted by Komajuro having an illegitimate son. Another theme addressed by the film is that of the relationship between the parents and the children. In the film Kiyoshi, Komajuro’s son doesn’t even know that Komajuro is his real father and refers to him as his uncle. This shows poor parent-child relationship by both parents as they would have told the truth to Kiyoshi.
The film captures the viewer’s interest due to the emotions that flow with it. Love relationships are also depicted in the film by Kiyoshi and the young actress, and also his parents and Sumiko. The relationship between individuals and society is also brought to the light with Komajuro being portrayed as a very controlling man. He wants to control the life of his son despite the fact that he is of age. The film mainly revolves around family ideas of and the society. War and reconciliation is also another theme brought out by the film. Komajuro fights the young actress to deter her from moving in with his son but as he walks out there is reconciliation between the two. At the railway station they meet with Sumiko whom they travel with to Kuwana reconciled.
The film is very important to the society in several ways. The film looks into the disillusionment or deconstruction of the Japanese family and the universe at large. This can be used as a basis to form remedies on to solve the problem. The film also offers a unique check on the steady change of cinemas especially with the comparison of the two films of different times. The film is also very crucial to any producer or director thinking of producing a fictional film. There is a lot of important ideas that can be borrowed from this film. The film ran with emotions also show the true emotional reaction and the genuine feelings in the series of life.
The filming of the scenes in the first play lacks the excessive top expressions and open display of emotions that western films contain. Comparing the recent film with the first one, the old one is better in several aspects. The old film runs for a shorter time, less dialogue and has no musical background, yet it communicates its content effectively and satisfactorily.
The shooting of the film is unique with specification by Ozu, its director. The cast is always slightly above the camera, when the characters are seated on the mats, the camera is very close to the floor. Between scenes there are interjections of pillow shots showing the sky or the architectural detail of the film setting area. The film lacks tracking shots, the camera is stationary and viewers are forced to look keenly, and get involved rather than just reacting. The shots taken are direct, but beautiful. The camera is rotated through 360 degrees such that props look like they are leaping from one side to another. The shooting of the film, the setting and the characters make the film a masterpiece.