Good Morning (1959)

Two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda, Yasujirô Ozu

Stars:

Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishû Ryû

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keiji Sada	...	Heiichirô Fukui
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Setsuko Arita
Chishû Ryû	...	Keitarô Hayashi
Kuniko Miyake	...	Tamiko Hayashi
Haruko Sugimura	...	Kikue Haraguchi
Kôji Shitara	...	Minoru Hayashi
Masahiko Shimazu	...	Isamu Hayashi
Kyôko Izumi	...	Midori Maruyama
Toyo Takahashi	...	Shige Ôkubo
Sadako Sawamura	...	Kayoko Fukui
Eijirô Tôno	...	Tomizawa
Teruko Nagaoka	...	Toyoko Tomizawa
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Mitsue Haraguchi
Haruo Tanaka	...	Haraguchi
Akira Ôizumi	...	Akira Maruyama

Storyline

This movie takes a look at a Westernized suburban area in Japan in the late '50s. It focuses mainly on the daily lives of a small community and the way its members interact. It also demonstrates the power of oral communication and the way in which small talk acts as a lubricant for our daily lives.

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Plot Keywords:

flatulence | kameido station | schoolteacher | hotel chinzanso | soup | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

February 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #84.

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Quotes

Isamu: A mess, isn't it?
Minoru: Fun, isn't it?

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Alternate Versions

The original American theatrical release prints were in black and white.

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Connections

Referenced in Battle Royale (2000)

User Reviews

Light & Entertaining, Yet Rather Perceptive

While somewhat lighter than most of Ozu's features, this is still a rather perceptive film that is also entertaining to watch. The situation and the characters are all straightforward, yet Ozu's expert eye sees plenty of things worth considering, and each simple story development has a purpose. If the material remains generally lightweight when compared to some of his other movies, it still has the same thoughtful, low-key touch and genuinely human characters.

The young boys drive much of the story in this one, and they are very believable, whether in their petulant responses to parental authority or in their schoolboy fads. Some of the latter can be slightly off-putting at times, but then such things do rather ring true with the nature of boys at that stage of their lives.

The cast is quite large, so that none of the characters gets a lot more screen time than any of the others, yet somehow all of them not only come alive, but get some defining moments. Most of the adult characters are simple, yet easy to care about, and there are several good performances. The grandmother character and the aunt of the two brothers are probably the most interesting of the characters, yet all of them have a purpose.

As is usually the case with Ozu's movies, you can watch it a second time and see additional detail in the characters' relationships and dialogue. This time, the issues involved are not as significant as usual, yet the simple plot provides some insights into the ways that families and neighbors communicate with one another and understand one another. It's probably more entertaining than enlightening, but yet there is some substance as well.