Gakusei romance: Wakaki hi (1929)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Akira Fushimi (writer)
Yasujiro Ozu (writer)

Release Date:

13 April 1929 (Japan)

Cast

Ichirô Yuki
Tatsuo Saito
Junko Matsui
Shinichi Himori
Chishu Ryu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takeshi Sakamoto
Nobuko Wakaba
Hisao Yoshitani

Also Known As:

Days of Youth

Runtime:

Japan:103 min

Country:

Japan

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Shochiku-Kamata Studios, Japan

Company:

Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ikite wa mita keredo - Ozu Yasujirô den (1983)

Ozu's simplicity

This early silent movie by Ozu is a one of the typical example of the simplicity of the director. This movie takes place almost in the same environment with very little changes, students bedrooms, mountain resort, sky sloops and bedrooms again. The external scenes are unfortunately a little bit spoilt by the early cinema technology, but still there are some rather catching shoots, one worthy considering is the one where the directors shoots the young man and the wanted lady from behind while they are side by side enjoying the landscape. The two male actors are quite into their part as the student playboy and the shy bookish boy, while the girl looks just like a mere inanimate object around which the whole plot is carried out, but her lack of expression and preferences is perfectly undertaken by the actress and definitely wanted by the director.

On the whole it's a nice easy film, that shows how young students lived like in those days, besides we get to know that things have changed little and that some things are common in any part of the globe. The typical love-triangle is well carried out and in the end the friendship between the two mates is not spoilt by their misadventures and neither the playboy nor the shy could take advantages of the young lady. Moreover all their efforts ended up to be vain, but since they are young and happy they could accept the fact without regretting to much about it. Ozu tells us perfectly how sometimes we should laugh at our youth mistakes or bad luck, instead of letting them driving us crazy. To make a long story short: a brief worth seeing piece of youth everyday life.