The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) Yasujiro Ozu
For a couple who have been married for a long while, Taeko and Mokichi don’t seem to know each other all that well.
Here’s a secret you wish you knew sooner, honesty is underrated. Yasujiro Ozu is becoming a favorite of mine. He is understated and his movies really let you behind the curtain in family lives. In The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952) Taeko and Mokichi are a couple in post-war Japan. He is a company man doing well. His wife is at leisure and is showing their niece, Setsuko around town, but not setting a very good example. She and her friends are always talking down to their husbands, lying about where they are so they can go to the spa, and just generally doing what they want. All the while, telling Setsuko she should be getting married. For a couple that has been married for a long while, they don’t seem to know each other all that well, until they share a simple meal and are honest with one another.
If Ozu’s quiet look behind the curtain of family life appeals to you, watch Our Little Sister next. Hirokazu Kore-eda also gives ordinary conversations and shared meals room to matter, while letting us slowly understand the complicated relationships inside a family. Read the review →
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