NZIFF Classic Film Review: "The Munekata Sisters" ("宗方姉妹") (1950).

From the director of Late Spring (晩春) and Tokyo Story (東京物語) comes The Munekata Sisters (宗方姉妹). This drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, adapted by Ozu and Kōgo Noda, and based on the novel of the same title by Jirō Osaragi. Setsuko is unhappily married to Mimura, an engineer with no job and a drinking habit. She's always been in love with Hiroshi, but he left for France years ago without proposing. Now he is back and Mariko (Setsuko's sister) tries to reunite them, although secretly she loves him too.

This is the only Ozu film based on a novel. It was a common practice in Japanese cinema at the time to adapt such novels for the screen. The director later recalled that he found the process of adaptation difficult. His usual practice was to create original scripts invariably with his screenwriting partner Noda, so he could tailor those scripts to specific actors he had in mind for the various characters. However, since the characters from the novel already existed, Ozu had to find actors to fit a conception that was not his, and he found this to be a challenge. This circumstance may be one reason why this film is one of the least well-regarded of Ozu's postwar films. This is the first of only three films that Ozu made for a Japanese studio other than his "home" studio, Shochiku. The two other films were Floating Weeds (浮草) (1959) for Daiei and The End of Summer (小早川家の秋) (1961) for Toho. Toho was willing to temporarily lure Ozu away from Shochiku with the promise of a bigger budget than any previous Japanese production: 50 million yen (USD$140,000 or about a million-and-a-half dollars adjusted for inflation). This was the first film starring actress Kinuyo Tanaka after her triumphant months-long visit to Hollywood. Allegedly, Tanaka, from her recent contacts with Hollywood actors, was full of new ideas about acting, which she was not shy about sharing with Ozu. The latter, who held his own very strong (and very un-Hollywood) ideas about acting, was reportedly not pleased by this, and relations between the two during filming were thus somewhat tense. Although conceived as a star vehicle for Tanaka, the actor Sô Yamamura, playing the heroine's unemployed, alcoholic husband, was the only member of the cast to receive an award for his work on the film, being chosen as Best Actor of 1950 by the Blue Ribbon Awards and also as Best Supporting Actor of 1950 by the Mainichi Film Concours.

The film stars Kinuyo Tanaka, Hideko Takamine, Ken Uehara, Sanae Takasugi, Chishû Ryû, Sô Yamamura, Kamatari Fujiwara, Reikichi Kawamura, and Yoshiko Tsubouchi. The performances are so heartbreaking and yet so perfect in every decision made and every word spoken.

The film exemplifies Ozu's rich, mature style, an apparent stylelessness of patient, lifelike rhythms, unobtrusive camerawork, and credibly subtle performances.

Simon says The Munekata Sisters (宗方姉妹) receives:

Also, see my reviews for Tokyo Story (東京物語) and Asteroid City.