1959
Written and Directed by Yasujiru Ozu
Starring Masahiko Shimazu and Koji Shidara
Good Morning is the sort of mildly sweet film that escapes most filmmakers. It's a short comedy, dealing with the effects of two young Japanese boys that have decided to take a vow of silence until their parents agree to buy them a television set. It is also presented in full, glorious Technicolor, and it showcases how beautiful that bizarre palette can appear when in the hands of a genius--and make no mistake, Ozu deserves the title. Although his work is still somewhat of an unknown outside of Japan film buffs and Criterion Collection addicts, Ozu's films have only grown in their power as the years pass. While Good Morning carries little of the emotional depth and weight of his masterpieces, it's a delightful film nonetheless. Using the same stable of actors from his brilliant 1953 work Tokyo Story, Ozu uses the simplicity of childhood arrogance and numerous jokes on flatulence to make one of the rarest movies of all--a silly, tangy treat that refuses to directly describe morality, and in so doing, reminds the viewer of the holy pleasure found in simply being a child. It's a well-rehearsed belief at the Factual Opinion offices that children have no business appearing in mature films if one is forced to watch them behave as adults in miniature, and watching Good Morning leads one to believe that Ozu would have agreed. While the coarseness of the humor in Good Morning may not appeal to everyone, it certainly appealed to all of us here, and it comes with the friendliest of recommendations.
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