• 好人好日 (A Good Man, A Good Day)

1/26/19 (Sat), Tokyo

A film retrospective of the noted actress Iwashita Shima offered a double-feature bringing together two works in which she played the daughter of Ozu favorite Ryu Chishu. And that’s where the similarities stop. A Good Man, A Good Day (1961), directed by Ozu protégé Shibuya Minoru, was a slight and strained comedy set in Nara about an eccentric mathematics professor (Ryu), his dutiful wife (a very good Awashima Chikage), and a daughter (Iwashita) working in the town office who is scheming to marry her colleague (Kawazu Yusuke). The film relies heavily on unrealistic plot developments and characterizations, especially in the portrayal of the professor, and does not live up to its stellar cast. The story is not worth going into, but the writer seems to run out of ideas partway through, including a particularly dire plot development involving a thief. Scattered moments of relief, like a lovely scene between the mother and daughter discussing the latter’s impending marriage, prove few and far between.

The film was not helped by its pairing with an indisputable masterpiece, An Autumn Afternoon (秋刀魚の味), Ozu’s final film and one of his best, down to the heartbreaking final moment. A Good Man does feature nice views of the Deer Park, Todaiji and other Nara hot spots along with some good performances. But that’s hardly compensation for this forgettable piece.