I feel this is as much (if not less) an homage to Ozu as 'Ozu lost' or 'after Ozu'. Hou uses the same topoi/tropes as Ozu (cinema of mundanity, literally) but distills them into pure impressionist moments (or you can say the film constitutes One Moment in a transcendent viewpoint). It's resonantly empty. I find it a little exquisitely sentimental, but not nostalgic; or rather Hou incoporates the idea into a different paradigm of consciousness or lifeworld.
shareI disagree in that I think Hou just couldn't get past the look of Ozu's films. The slow, low camera, the discreet dialogue, etc. is all there in Cafe Lumiere, but unfortunately I don't think he's able to touch on the topics Ozu dealt with with the same expanse. Ozu had things to say about life, and his style fit his content wonderfully...and while I'd never argue against Hou's skill (man I cry everytime I watch the first segment of Three Times, and I think Flowers of Shanghai is near perfect, and had something to say), I don't know whether he felt overwhelmed, or just got caught up in the presentation of the film that he simply dismissed any sort of exploration of his characters.
The subtleties of her pregnancy and how she decides to deal with it are interesting, but her relationship with Asanabou's character is so lackluster I felt a bit short changed. Like it's on the brink of telling us all we need to know, but then regresses right before it should in fact expand. Granted, that can also be argued as the beauty of the film, and is of course why I will be watching it again sometime soon. For even while I try to work through the film's problems, there's just no denying Hou's brilliance as a director (though when it comes to Taiwanese cinema I prefer Tsai), and so even though I may not like this one as much as his others (I thoroughly enjoyed Three Times, which goes to show he still has the touch), it blows most other movies out of the water.
Well, I guess I just wanted to say that I think he got the look of Ozu down (man I just love the slickness of the shots), but I think there's more to Ozu than just style, and Hou didn't really put alot more than that into the film.
I agree, and I don't think our views are contrary. Yes, I can't help feeling this film is slightly...well, slight (for Hou at least anyway), but like you said, that's the beauty of it - Hou is using similar, even the same, aesthetics as Ozu but from a philosophical vantage absolutely diametric (perhaps even transcendent?) to the Master.
The only thing about Ozu that bothers me is his obsession with innocence (for instance, of the characters). This becomes increasingly uncomfortable, to say the least, when it's infused with a nationalist/imperialist ideology.
Thanks to both of you for a great thread. I do tend to feel as though Hou, in honoring Ozu, could
have brought more weight to the film. But also he isn't trying to copy or to trump, he's doing a modern
take - in a world that is so very different and so much same as 40-60 years previous. I'm new to Hou
and look forward to seeing more.
I'm almost starting to believe that Hou cannot be appreciated fully unless one starts from his early films (I started with A City of Sadness) and works forward. There seems to be such a logical and obvious progression. What I find interesting is that as his narratives have become increasingly superficially light, his themes have have seemed to become increasingly deep, if a bit opaque. I'm almost always torn in different directions - moods, thoughts, emotions, etc. - after watching a Hou film, and that's one thing I love about him.
With Lumiere, my first thought is that the Ozu influence is only skin (stylistically) deep. What Hou had to say about people in changing society was as profound as anything Ozu ever did in his Taiwanese trilogy and Millennium Mambo. But Lumiere is a very Japanese film from a very Taiwanese director. In watching it, and after watching it, I begun asking myself what Hou was going for with it all. The intersecting lives of simple people seems to be a strong theme (look at the closing shot of the interweaving trains).
WKW, you said something interesting in about how Lumiere seems to always be about to tell us everything we need to know about Yoko and Hajime's relationship... but this is a staple of Hou, and people/relationships in Hou's films. I tend to think that Hou always request we look far beyond anything that's shown directly to find that "everything we need to know". He tends to be a director that reveals alot with very little, and that's proven by how I'm usually able to watch his films 4 times and feel differently about them each time.
Last Films Seen:
Double Indemnity 9/10
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The Killing 7.5/10
Nice post, Eva, but I can't agree with you that the Ozu influence is only skin deep. To quote your own words, "Hou's narratives have become increasingly light, his themes increasingly deep." One of the themes in this film has precisely to do with the differences between the world Ozu was commenting on and the world Hou is commenting on. When people accuse CAFE LUMIERE of not being more like Ozu, I feel they are missing the fundamental essence of the film (and Hou's artistry). Ozu's influence has been evident in Hou's work from very early on (look at DUST IN THE WIND, for example), but one can rarely accuse him of emulating his mentor. Why should we expect CAFE LUMIERE to be any different? And yet, it's his most Ozu like film in many respects. Someone on an earlier post mentioned the scene where Yoko and her parents eat at a restaurant, and how it compared poorly with the relative richness of similar scenes in Ozu's work. But herein lies the fundamental difference between Ozu's work and Hou's, particularly in CAFE LUMIERE - basically, throughout this film Hou is commenting on the differences between society in Ozu's day and society now. The most striking thing (and very Ozu-like it is too, but in a very subtle way) is that all three sit side by side, not facing each other as is usual with Ozu, and not saying a word. This simple shot says much about the relationship between the characters, as well as the differences between Ozu and Hou. CAFE LUMIERE is full of Hou's unique and exquisite (and beautifully understated) visual style, filtered through Ozu perhaps, but very definitely a Hou (not an Ozu) aesthetic - and yet, ironically, it's full of Ozu as well. That is quite an achievement!
One other observation I would like to make has to do with the parents, particularly their "concern for Yoko and her child", and their "resigned and caring silence". Look again at the scene where she tells them that she's going to look after the child on her own, and notice their subtle shock when they realize that they cannot count on her (as they have been hoping) to look after them in their old age. This major Ozu theme (which would take up entire films) is quietly flushed away in one sentence by Yoko. In terms of Hou commenting on Ozu, this is significant, not only in terms of the comment being made, but also the sophisticated and extremely subtle cinematic language used to say it. The cold reality of their future hits the parents (the father particularly) with a wallop, but the father's reserve barely lets it show. At this point they exit the film, and for all we know Yoko's life as well. There's an earlier scene where Yoko's stepmother tells her silent husband that he has to speak to Yoko. As she speaks he gets up and moves to another part of the room and sits down - still not saying anything. In a number of scenes in this film there is a static fan. In Antonioni's L'ECLISSE (and by the way, Antonioni is another major influence on Hou), the opening scene shows a couple after a night of arguing - out of words and reeling from the nights events. There is a fan in the room that rotates backwards and forwards like a spectator at a tennis match, indicating the two-and-fro of what has presumably gone before. In CAFE LUMIERE, the fans never move. This could be a comment on the quality of the communication between the characters in the film. When the father moves to a different spot in the room, the fan acts as a halo around his head (perfectly positioned I might add, too much so in my opinion to be an accident), indicating perhaps the quiet pleasure he feels as a powerless, silent martyr. Or maybe not.
- “Cinema is an ocean. Some float on the surface - others dive for pearls.”
gradnick, I don't disagree with anything you had to say. In my post I did say "my first thought" specifically because I know how my impression of a Hou film changes over time. And after two more viewings I definitely saw the thematic similarities you pointed out (some of the stylistic ones struck me instantly, especially the meticulous, geometric framing - but Hou's done that long before Lumiere). Ozu's influence on Hou is interesting because in the interview didn't Hou state that he didn't really become interested in Ozu's films until later in his career? It almost seems impossible because the stylistic similarities seem apparent from about A Time to Live on (not to mention the "Late Spring" clip that plays in Good Men, Good Women).
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You're right. Good point. Interesting, eh?
I hope you continue to enjoy revisiting Hou.
His films always reward return trips!
I'm having a little Hou retrospective at the moment, starting from the beginning.
Much fun!
grad.
Hou's one of my favorites. I finally broke down and just bought the SinoMovie set that has Boys from Fenkuei, Summer at Grandpa's, A Time to Live, and Dust in the Wind. Had to pay out the behind for it, but I wanted to get it while I had the chance.
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Well worth it. You won't regret it. The quality of the transfers may not quite be Criterion standard, but the chance to access this early work is very valuable. A Time to Live is especially good.
One film I have never seen is Daughter of the Nile. It has never made it to a theater near me, neither has it turned up on DVD (or even VHS). Have you seen it? Do you know if it's available anywhere?
g.
As far as I know, Daughter of the Nile is completely unavailable. Even the places that sell home-made DVDs of hard to find foreign films don't have it.
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