It seemed odd to leave a still burning funeral pyre attended by only a stranger. However, the procession shown right before the fire appeared to be a funeral procession, with silhouette of people carrying something possibly a coffin. Also a funeral pyre would make most sense, given the subject of the movie.
I was also confused by this. I also didn't understand if the funueral was for somebody specific.
share[deleted]
Yes, the fire was a cremation. The funeral procession common to rural Japan appears in several of Ozu's films. In this case I interpret it to be the funeral of a stranger to Yumiko (as she is not an intimate part of the procession but trails far behind). She perhaps joins in the funeral of a stranger hoping to find answers to her continuing obsession with the question of the suicide of her first husband. Hence the closing scene with Tamio.
sharei am answering this 5 years after you asked this question. i watched it tonight for the second time. i had the feeling that she had made the fire, possibly as a way to mourn, and to reach out to the memory of,her dead husband. i found the scene very moving but i almit that it felt so sad to me that he did not go up to her and hold her, but that is probably my western culture speaking.
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just finished watching this mesmerizing film. i might be wrong but i think she built the fire to let go off the ghost. when her husband found her, i thought either she'll hug him, or the other way around. turns out i like the distance in the scene better. Koreeda is really a wonderful director.
share
Yes, I know that it's just a cultural difference, as every people have their ways of expressing themselves. However, as I was raised with Western sensibilities, this refusal to touch or physically comfort that permeates so many hundreds of East Asian films that I've seen always rankles me, as it seems cold and inhuman to me. I often find myself thinking, "For God's sake, go hold her, you monster!"
exactly the same feeling for me.
The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.
No such tradition of funeral pyres exists in Japan. Koreeda does it to give contrast to the Golden Hour frame. Read any thematic significance you like into it - personally, I don't think it is there.
The point on lack of physical contact - I agree up to a point. But I also find the urge in many Western nations to touch and hug a bit too much a times. Does any nation/culture have the balance just right?
count, i don't understand. what does this mean?:
< Koreeda does it to give contrast to the Golden Hour frame.>
what is the golden hour frame?
The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.
The scene is shot at Golden Hour, the time when the sun is setting (or rising) and light is fading, and (so the theory goes) at its most beautiful (more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_%28photography%29).
In the shot in question, if the fire were not there, you would not be able to pick out Esumi on the beach. The fire is an extra light source allowing us to differentiate her in the frame. In my opinion, that is the only reason for the fire on the beach - without it, the actors would not be visible.