Black and White . 72 minutes

Shochiku Ofuna Studio

Written By
Ozu Yasujiro
Ikeda Tadao

Cinematography
Atsuta Yuharu

Music By
Saito Ichiro

Cast
Iida Choko (Otane)
Aoki Hohi (Kohe)
Ozawa Eitaro (Father)
Yoshikawa Mitsuko (Kikuko)
Kawamura Sokichi (Tamekichi)
Mimura Hideko (Ukiko)
Ryu Chishu (Tashiro)
Sakamoto Takeshi (Kihachi)
Takamatsu Eiko (Tome)

Synopsis
Tashiro the fortune-teller packs up a stray boy and foists him on his widowed neighbor Otane. She treats the sulky bed-wetter as a nuisance. She takes him back to his original place of residence, but is told his father has packer up and gone. Over a few incidents, the boy gradually cracks open her hard shell and even restores community spirit to the neighborhood. Just when Otane is ready to adopt him, his father, who has lost him in a crowd, turns up for him. Otane decides to adopt one of the many homeless boys who hang out near Saigo's statue in Ueno park.

Thoughts from Ozu
I was zapped out after returning from the war, but the company kept pestering me to get down to work. I had no choice but to churn out a script in 12 days. To my surprise, the company's response was: "Who would have thought you can write scripts so quickly?" I quickly replied, "Just this once. I wouldn't be able to write at this speed next time." To tell you the truth, I saw more foreign films that any other time in my life while I was stationed in Singapore. It seems that some people think that I have been transformed by the experience. The same people however said that Record of a Tenement Gentleman is no different from my previous works. They even went as far as to say "this fellow never changes."

Personal Thoughts and Comments
Record of a Tenement Gentleman is Ozu's first postwar film (made five years after his previous film There Was a Father). Overall it is a simple, lighthearted comedy yet is also a touching, personal, bittersweet and even distanced film. Distanced in the sense that Ozu pushes away the any forced manipulation of emotions through his simplistic style. The story of an abandoned boy in postwar Japan who grows a relationship with a cynical middle-aged woman could have easily been one of forced emotional impact. Yet through Ozu, it is restrained and ultimately more poetic and effective. Ultimately the film becomes a moving and hopeful film of the human condition against the tragic backdrop of war. Despite the ruins of a postwar Japan, the film leaves a sense of hope for humanity and for recovery (both in relationship of the family and of Japan). Not a masterpiece, but an excellent film in the very capable hands of Ozu.