Roslindale Monogatari

Tokyo no Yado / Tokyo Inn (Yasujiro Ozu, 1935) My favorite Ozu silent (though it is a bit of a close call), this follows the fortunes (or misfortunes) of two homeless families -- a single father (Takeshi Sakamoto) with two boys and a single mother (Yoshiko Okada) with a little girl as they look for work in depression era Tokyo. Things finally seem to be looking up for Sakamoto and his kids (the older of which is played by always wonderful Tomio Aoki) when an old friend (Choko Iida) helps him find work -- and the boys are able to finally return to school -- but then Okada (still vainly seeking work) and her daughter vanish... Ozu may not have inspired the neo-realist movement (as they probably knew nothing of his work), but he clearly anticipated it in this clear-eyed study of the lowest rung of the working class. The surviving source materials are quite deteriorated -- but I am simply happy this masterpiece survives at all. Nagasaki no Kane / the Bell of Nagasaki (Hideo Oba, 1950) ...

Tochuken Kumoemon (Mikio Naruse, 1936) Tochuken Kumoemon may not be a major work (I think) but it was still of some interest. This film is based on a real Meiji era performer -- and tells of Tochuken's partnership with his wife (played by Chikako Hosokawa) who played shamisen for his songs/recitations), his affair with a geisha (Sachiko Chiba), the deterioration of his partnership and marriage and the angry death of his wife (in a hospital -- due to lung disease) followed by his rather sententious poeticizing over her remains. I rather suspect that Naruse did not really intend his audience to admire Tochuken a great deal (as a human, in any event). The actor (Ryunosuke Tsukigata) comes across much more like a low-grade samurai (or yakuza) than an "artiste". Miyamoto Musashi / Musashi Miyamoto (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1944) A young brother and sister seek out great sword master (and wood carver) Musahi Miyamoto for instruction in swordcraft. As it turns out, their father has...

Joyu to shijin / Actress and Poet (Mikio Naruse, 1935) Our hero here is Hiroshi Uruki, the nominal "poet" -- who writes children's songs and is also the somewhat hen-pecked husband of an actress (Sachiko Chiba). When not doing house chores, he dabbles at song-writing and chats with neighbors and friends (including Kamatari Fujiwara, who is currently way behind in the rent at his apartment). After one neighbor (an insurance salesman) sells a life insurance policy to a nice (but somewhat nervous) couple that have just moved into the neighborhood, Uruki celebrates with the neighbor and his chatty, nosy wife. After drinking lots of beer, the neighbor acts out one of Uruki's children's songs (played on a phonograph) about a tanuki (raccoon dog). Uruki is in a somewhat truculent mood when he gets home, but is too far gone to notice his wife's arrival. The next morning, as Uruki tries to fix breakfast, his wife (who is clearly a late riser) insists he help her re...