Ukigusa (1959)

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (screenplay) and
Yasujiro Ozu (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 November 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of Japan. Komajuro Arashi, the aging master of the troupe...

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Japan | Travelling Players | Actor | Theater

Cast

Ganjiro Nakamura	...	Komajuro Arashi
Machiko Kyô	...	Sumiko
Ayako Wakao	...	Kayo
Hiroshi Kawaguchi	...	Kiyoshi Homma
Haruko Sugimura	...	Oyoshi
Hitomi Nozoe	...	Aiko
Chishû Ryû	...	Theatre Owner
Kôji Mitsui	...	Kichinosuke
Haruo Tanaka	...	Yatazo
Yosuke Irie	...	Sugiyama
Hikaru Hoshi	...	Kimura
Mantarô Ushio	...	Sentaro
Kumeko Urabe	...	Shige
Toyo Takahashi	...	Aiko no haha
Mutsuko Sakura	...	O-Katsu

Also Known As:

Drifting Weeds
Floating Weeds (USA)
Ukikusa (Japan) (alternative transliteration)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | UK:PG (re-release)

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

Roger Ebert picks this film as one of his all-time 10 favourites.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, sandals disappear or move around: after Kiyoshi argues with his father, he runs upstairs, first slipping out of his sandals and leaving them at the bottom (center) of the stairs. Moments later, Kayo goes up to him. We see that she, too, removes her sandals at the bottom of the stairs. But Kiyoshi's sandals have now suddenly disappeared: we see only Kayo's sandals at the bottom of the stairs. Moments later, Kiyoshi comes back downstairs to go after his father. He goes to put on his sandals, which have now suddenly reappeared, but in a different location from where he took them off. A moment later, Kayo also comes down the stairs and puts on her sandals, which are approximately where she had removed them and placed them, moments earlier.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)

Pure elegance

"Floating Weeds" (Japanese, 1959): The first few things I notice about films by writer/director Ozu are: the incredibly consistent, artful composition used in his shots; his patience with the "ordinary"; and his intentional avoidance of "action" and blatant "drama". His films are meditative exercises on the daily truths we humans must face, which contain their own realistic challenges. Like Bergman and Allen, he too often uses the same actors, non-exotic locations, and stays within a philosophical area of interest that is obviously not market driven…which earns them dedicated followers...even after death. Ozu's films are pure elegance.