Color . 94 minutes

Shochiku Ofuna Studio

Written By
Ozu Yasujiro
Noda Kogo

Cinematography
Atsuta Yuharu

Music By
Mayuzumi Toshiro

Cast
Sata Keniji (Fukui Heichiro)
Kuga Yoshiko (Arita Setsuko)
Ryu Chishu (Hayashi Keitaro)
Miyake Kuniko (Tamiko)
Sugimura Haruko (Haraguchi Kikue)
Shigaraki Koji (Minoru)
Shimazu Masahiko (Isamu)
Shirata Hajime (Kozo)
Tanaka Haruo (Haraguchi)
Miyoshi Eiko (Haraguchi Grandma)
Takahashi Toyo (Okubo Shige)
Fujiki Masuo (Zen)
Tono Eijiro (Tomizawa)
Nagaoka Teruko (Mrs Tomizawa)

Synopsis
Scolded by their parents for missing their English lessons in order to watch sumo wrestling on their neighbor's newly acquired TV, brothers Minoru and Isamu take a vow of silence to pressure their father into buying one. Their behavior exacerbates relations between members of the local woman's club, where the loss of some club dues has lead to a spate of gossip, allegations and misunderstandings. At the same time, the boys' English teacher, Fukui, is in love with their aunt, but whenever they meet, they are too shy to express their feelings and instead exchange polite greetings. After getting into trouble at school for the vow of silence, the boys run away from home. When they come home, instead of being punished, there's a brand new TV in the house.

Thoughts from Ozu
I conceived this story ages ago. Human beings love idle prattle, but when it comes to saying something important at critical moments, they get tongue-tied. I wanted to make that the subject of a film, but once preparation got underway, things were not as easy as they seemed. I pitched the idea to the Directors' Association, and everybody thought it was an interesting subject. Yet when I offered them to let them turn it into a film, nobody rose to the occasion. So I made up my mind to do it myself. Although this story which was conceived a while ago had a rather bitter edge, as I got older, I was promoted by box office considerations to make a sidesplitting comedy. Well, to be precise, I wasn't so concerned about box office performance as wishing that more people would come and watch my film.

Personal Thoughts and Comments
Ozu's 1959 Good Morning is said to be a loose remake of his monumental 1932 silent film I Was Born, But..., though the similarities between the two films are rather minor as they are clearly unique in both tone and narrative. As with any Ozu film it's simplistic techniques do not discourage the complex depths and themes which result. Ultimately, Good Morning is a delightful film of contemporary Japanese society and consumerism within a suburban household, as well as an examination into communication and community. It's a comedy which is presented with satire, but it never becomes political and the calm and intelligent filmmaking from Ozu results in an equally profound and funny film (even if there are many "bodily function" jokes throughout). Ozu is one of the very greatest directors of children and the children here are outstanding (notably in their expressive vow of silence). Ozu presents the film in glorious Technicolor and it's beauty wonderfully captures the atmosphere and energy of the film, the suburbs of Japan, and the characters of the film.