Passing Fancy

One of Ozu's three films of 1933, Passing Fancy a Silent melodrama about a father, his son, a coworker, a young lady and a mature woman. On the story level, Passing Fancy is much like the other Ozu work, being on the level of the small events that make our daily life. They aren't grand scale pictures but I've already dissected Ozu's approach and touch on my precedent reviews and retrospectives I've already done on his films.

This films is insteresting on how it brings narrative elements of Ozu's storytelling. Being a silent film it gives another perspective on how Ozu developped his style. Already in 1933, he did the uncommon camera angles that caracterized one of his trademarks. The characters and their interactions with each other are build like in any of his films has many love/hate relationships and codependent groups that live together that everyone must help everyone if one demonstrated kindness.

To me, the main character, the father that tries to be a good dad but with his impulsive character and lack of experience does mistakes, as everyone in life, he represents Yasujiro Ozu as the young director that must fight with himself to be a great director (which he became). A great pre-war Japanese film!