Early Spring

Director: OZU Yasujirô
1956, 144 minutes, OmeU, DCP

Set in the middle class, this family drama(shomin geki) paints the portrait of a young employee who loses hope for the future in the face of his dreary professional and private life. Sugiyama Shôji has been married to Masako for several years. Since the early death of their young son, the marriage has become disillusioned. After monotonous days at work, Shôji goes out with friends in the evening and starts an affair with a colleague whose nickname is "Goldfish". Masako endures this in silence, but finally leaves him when he forgets the anniversary of his son's death. Shaken up, Shôji dares to make a fresh start and has himself transferred to a place outside Tokyo. Sometime later, his wife surprisingly returns to him and they try to help each other.

Movie series
Ozu Yasujirô (1903 - 1963)
A tribute to the Japanese directing legend

Ozu Yasujirô is one of Japan's most internationally renowned directors. To mark his 120th birthday, which he would have celebrated this year, the production company Shôchiku and the Japan Foundation have digitally restored several works, six of which we are presenting. The series is complemented by TOKYO-GA by master director Wim Wenders.

The perfectionist Ozu developed an unmistakable film aesthetic, which he pursued with strict consistency. Characteristic are camera shots in which the action is filmed at the eye level of a person sitting on the floor, whereby Ozu always used a 50mm lens. He also deliberately avoided cross-fades, tracking shots or panning shots and restricted himself to fixed shots and simple cuts.

In almost all of his films, Ozu focused on the complex relationships within a family and portrayed the multi-layered emotional interdependencies between the different generations.
Both behind and in front of the camera, he worked with a well-coordinated and distinguished team, and many of his actors and actresses were among the stars of their time.

The series is a cooperation with the Arsenal - Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V. in Berlin, the Metropolis Kino, Kinemathek Hamburg e.V. and the Filmhaus Nürnberg in the KunstKulturQuartier.