The Munekata Sisters (Munekata Shimai, Yasujiro Ozu, 1950)

Sister act

Ozu working for another studio?! The idea seems unheard of, like the director doing a film noir or shooting an explicitly erotic scene. But in fact Ozu's done at least one gangster flick (Dragnet Girl) and three films outside of Shochiku, of which this one was the first (the other two were his 1951 remake Floating Weeds and his second-to-the-last The End of Summer (1961)). As for The Munekata Sisters, Shintoho studios-- basically 'New Toho,' as the actors there had defected from the old studio due to labor disputes-- needed reputable directors and lured Ozu away by offering him more money: 50 million yen, or $140,000 1950 dollars (around $1.8 million today).

The Greatest Food Films Ever

Lust for life

(An incomplete essay)

Hard to make a case for films about food before the late '80s. There wasn't much of a movement to help stimulate craving other than the occasional cooking show on American public television (Food Network was only a glimmer of an idea in the horizon), and the handful that actually dealt with the subject weren't all appetizing. 

Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum (art exhibit 2/10/23 to 6/4/23)

Sheer Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer is Dutch painting's Yasujiro Ozu.

Late Spring (Banshun, Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

Father knows best

(Warning-- plot details openly discussed. If you haven't seen this (and An Autumn Afternoon) see em first!)

September 19 marks 70 years since Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring (Banshun) was released in 1949-- the first entry in his 'Noriko Trilogy' (quintessential Ozu muse Setsuko Hara playing a character named Noriko) and generally considered the first masterpiece of his final period (rigorous pared-down style, softspoken focus on domestic tensions).