Released in 1959, the same year as Ohayo, Floating Weeds was a remake of Ozu’s own 1934 feature A Story of Floating Weeds. Like Ohayo, it is a gentle comedy. But its tone is somewhat sweeter, if a bit reserved and melancholy and the jokes – many of them visual puns – are delivered in a way that seems almost casual.
The famous opening, where a bottle and a light house are compared – each figure taking its turn to appear gigantic or diminutive in the frame – in a montage of shots is nothing less than a play on perspective, composition and the possibilities of photography. It’s also a cue for the audience to accept Ozu’s terms; it’s possible to embrace the glorious and the magical in the everyday.
The story deals with change, a typical Ozu theme. The 'floating weeds’ of the title are a band of travelling players who land in a small coastal hamlet and upset the community’s day-to-day rhythms; but the 'rootless ensemble of theatricals’ also enrich and inspire the locals.
The performances and the contemplative mood would be enough to recommend it but the film’s incidental pleasures are extraordinary too; not the least of which is the amazing colour cinematography which has a pastel palette that is both calming and other-worldly.
Sound and image are particularly good. The extra features include a very academic but solid commentary by Dr. Wendy Haslem from Melbourne University and a trailer.
