The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)

A childless middle-aged couple faces a marital crisis.

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda, Yasujirô Ozu

Stars:

Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Kôji Tsuruta

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shin Saburi	...	Mokichi Satake
Michiyo Kogure	...	Taeko Satake
Kôji Tsuruta	...	Non-chan / Noboru Okada
Chishû Ryû	...	Sadao Hirayama
Chikage Awashima	...	Aya Amamiya
Keiko Tsushima	...	Setsuko Yamauchi
Kuniko Miyake	...	Chizu Yamauchi
Eijirô Yanagi	...	Naosuke Yamauchi
Hisao Toake	...	Toichiro Amamiya
Yûko Mochizuki	...	Shige Hirayama
Kôji Shitara	...	Koji Yamauchi
Matsuko Shiga	...	Toichiro's mistress
Yôko Kosono	...	Fumi
Kinichi Ishikawa	...	Company President
Yoko Osakura	...	Kuroda Takako (as Yoko Uehara)

Storyline

Takeo, a capricious wife from Tokyo high-society, is bored by her dull husband, a quiet and reliable company executive raised in the country (Shin Saburi) After a crisis, she understands better his true value. A parallel sub-plot shows her niece rebelling against the tradition of arranged marriages.

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Plot Keywords:

cigarette smoking | generation gap | war song | singing | pachinko | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 November 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tea Over Rice

Filming Locations:

Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the spa, the women mention the All-Girl Revue and sing a song from it ("It started when the violets were in bloom..."). This is most likely a reference to the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, in the Hyogo Prefecture.

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Quotes

Taeko Satake: Think well before you pick your groom, it's important.

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Soundtracks

Gaudeamus igitur
Traditional tune, lyrics by Christian Wilhelm Kindleben
Performed by Kôji Tsuruta

User Reviews

Not top notch Ozu, but well worth watching

Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu made this 1952 film between two masterpieces, Early Summer and (especially) Tokyo Story, and this film suffers a bit by comparison with them. As in other (somewhat more accomplished) movies by Ozu (one thinks especially of the superb Late Spring) the plot deals on the issue of whether a young woman should marry, and if that marriage should be a love marriage or arranged one. There is a middle aged, childless couple, the snobbish, nasty Taeko (Michiyo Kogure) and her husband, the honest, good but a bit dull salary man Satake (Shin Saburi). Her nephew, the pretty young Setsuko (Keiko Tsushima) comes to visit, she has to go to an interview for an arranged marriage, but seeing the loveless marriage between Taeko and Satake, and how she mocks him behind his back, is not very interested.

Ozu's best films haven't dated a bit, but this one has somewhat. Moreover, while I don't agree with the generalization that all of Ozu's films are slow (not all of them are), this one is on the leisurely paced side. What's more, the movie takes some time to develop its plot so it does require a bit of patience from the viewer. You will eventually warm up to this movie, I think, but not immediately.

On the plus side, it is a good, interesting movie, with believable, well developed characters. Chishu Ryu, Chikage Awashima and Kumiko Mikaye (all regular of many Ozu films) have bit roles here.