MovieChat Forums > Banshun (1972) Discussion > Interesting story about final scene

Interesting story about final scene

posted 15 years ago by excel99
9 replies | jump to latest

I got this from the Japanese Wikipedia page on Banshun.

The final scene was originally written to have Shukichi crying after peeling the apple, but Chishu Ryu--the actor who plays Shukichi--disagreed with this way and told Ozu that he couldn't do it. Apparently this was the only time he ever asked to change a scene in all his films with Ozu. So they decided to do the scene as we see it, with Shukichi lowering his head.

But when the film came out the critics panned this scene (I don't know specifically what they didn't like; the Wikipedia page doesn't say). Ryu later said that he normally never cared what the critics said about his acting, but this case he really resented.

I understand Ryu's resentment. This is just about the most perfect last scene I've ever seen in a film. I can't believe the critics didn't like it.

[–] JacquesDemy 15 years ago

I am glad he chose not to overdone this by crying. Actually I think the beach scene in the end was already a little bit redundant and overdone.

[–] excel99 15 years ago

If you watch many Ozu films you can see a definite trend to do away with melodrama. His earlier films had a lot of melodrama, and as time went by, he just discarded more and more of it. I think Ozu realized (1) it wasn't necessary to show overly emotional scenes, and (2) those scenes were often the weakest in his films. In There Was A Father, the two weakest scenes are clearly when the father collapses from his illness, and the deathbed scene. They don't really pull the heartstrings, they just drag on uncomfortably and rather predictably. On the other hand, the most tragic aspect of the film, the death of the high school boys, is NEVER shown yet permeates every frame of the film. Ozu must have realized here that it was better NOT to show some of the most emotional moments. It's more powerful in the mind of the viewer than showing it and having the viewer realize it's all fake anyways.

About the beach scene at the end, I originally thought it was unnecessary, too. But when I think about it now, ending with the father dropping his head would send the WRONG message. The viewer would feel that this really was a tragedy, when I don't think Ozu intended that. The father is lonely at the end, but as he said to Noriko, this is how human life and history go on. The film CAN'T end on that much of a downer. One final shot to bring the viewer back out of the gloom is needed, and the shot of the ocean, while not perfect, does the trick.

[–] jpb58 15 years ago

I love the ending as it stands too.

Couldn't those critics see that the man was crying inside? You don't have to show actual tears to show a man who is sad and lonely. The very fact that he didn't come home and collapse on the floor in tears (which would have been real melodrama) but immediately did something physical, like peel an apple, shows that life goes on and the father was resigned to living alone and doing things for himself, instead of allowing the daughter to do everything for him.

That's why I rarely listen to critics but make up my own mind instead. Often critics can't see the forest for the trees.

[–] kerpan 15 years ago

I interpret the last scene with Ryu as reflecting deep worry about whether the path he has pushed his daughter into will be the right one. It was the "conventionally correct" thing to do -- but will it turn out to be the best course for his daughter. I think hais distress is as much due to this as to loneliness.

The last scene simply tells us that the cycle of building families (and dissolving them) will continue -- no matter what the individuals happen to feel about it. ;~}

MEK

Every dream is a prophecy: every jest is an earnest in the womb of Time.

[–] Local Hero 14 years ago

That's certainly a valid interpretation, but, for what it's worth, it's not the way that I perceive that scene. I think the father is quite deliberate about the steps of deception and self-sacrifice he has made to push his doting daughter out of the nest, but this first moment alone is the moment when the weight of that sacrifice first hits him; I see it as profound sadness at losing the companionship of the daughter he loves so much (sadness but not hesitation or regret).

As for the debate over crying versus lowering the head, when I saw the scene I assumed that the knife stopped the peeling because the eyes had welled up with tears, making his continuing with the blade impossible. Then we get a shot of him somewhat from behind as he lowers his head, and my assumption was that he was crying. At any rate, I agree with the actor in that I think this has far more emotional impact than a direct shot of his face showing tears streaming down the cheeks.

[–] kerpan 14 years ago

I wouldn't contest the fact that the father is feeling sad and lonely at this point -- but think his distress is augmented by not knowing if his "pushing" will, in fact, lead to the ultimate happiness of his daughter.
MEK

Analyze only when necessary.
fortune cookie, 4-24-2010

[–] Local Hero 14 years ago

Certainly, that seems to me a possibility as well, even if it's not the primary way I read the scene.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5998) a year ago

The sea shot seems to say "it was all as inevitable as the waves in the sea going in and out".

[–] PoppyTransfusion 9 years ago

Well I am with the actor on this one. If he had cried it would have felt false to his character. The apple peel falling and his bowed head said more than a few tears.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.