is a 1927 Japanese

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

written and directed by

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

. It is the first film directed by Ozu and was also the first of his many collaborations with screenwriter

Kogo Noda was a Japanese screenwriter most famous for collaborating with Yasujirō Ozu on many of the director's films. Born in Hakodate, Noda was the son of the head of the local tax bureau and younger brother to Kyūho, a Nihonga painter. He moved to Na ...

. It is a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. No script, negative or prints survive.

Synopsis

Sakichi, who has just been released after five years in prison, is telling his younger brother Ishimatsu that he intends to turn his back on crime when an acquaintance of theirs, Genshichi, bursts in. Genshichi is in flight from officers of the law, having been disturbed in the course of a burglary. Sakichi and Ishimatsu allow him to hide with them, but Sakichi urges him to give up his life of crime. Genshichi laughs derisively and disappears. Sakichi apprentices himself to a rice-merchant and by his diligence and honesty earns his employer's trust. Ishimatsu steals a valuable hair ornament from Oyae, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. As he flees, pursued by the constable Manabe, he happens to meet Sakichi on the road. Without warning, he presses the ornament into Sakichi's hand and runs off. Manabe sees the ornament in Sakichi's possession and is about to take him into custody when Oyae and her attendant arrive and tell him that Sakichi is not the thief. Manabe lets Sakichi go, but questions him about Ishimatsu. Sakichi denies knowing Ishimatsu's whereabouts. Manabe then reveals Sakichi's criminal past, causing him to be dismissed from his apprenticeship. Despairing, he turns to drink. Ishimatsu finally decides to mend his ways and suggests to Sakichi that they should return together to their native village, but the disillusioned Sakichi says that society will not allow anyone with a criminal record to turn over a new leaf because it will not believe that the conversion is genuine. Some time later, Ishimatsu and Sakichi are pursued by the constables. They separate and Sakichi is aided by Oyae, who conceals him at her father's business premises. The next morning Sakichi hears the sound of money being counted in the next room. In a sleepwalking trance he raids the cash-box. Oyae's father refrains from condemning him as a thief and even gives him more money to enable him to make a new start in life. Sakichi goes home and is packing his belongings with the intention of returning to his native village when Genshichi arrives and demands a share of the money. After a fight, Genshichi runs away. By chance, he meets Ishimatsu and attacks him. The badly injured Ishimatsu makes his way to Sakichi's house, which is then surrounded by a party of constables led by Manabe. Sakichi fights his way out, goes to the house where Genshichi is hiding, kills Genshichi, frees Oyae, whom Genshichi has kidnapped, and returns her safely to her father, his benefactor. Ishimatsu dies, and Sakichi is left pondering in despair the choice between dying himself or turning to crime.

Connection to American films

The film's plot was summarised in the Japanese movie magazine ''

Kinema Junpō , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

'' 「キネマ旬報」 (1 October 1927). The same magazine's review of the film (21 November 1927) points out that it owes much of its plot to American movies, including '' Kick In'' (directed by

George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940, he directed ...

in two versions, 1917 and 1922; Japanese title ''The Collapse of Civilisation'' 'Bunmei no hakai''��文明の破壊」) and ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (1917, directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president ...

). The two ''Kinema Junpō'' articles are reprinted in the collected works of Yasujirō Ozu.

Cast

* Saburō Azuma as Kisarazu no Sakichi * Kunimatsu Ogawa as Kinezumi no Ishimatsu (Sakichi’s younger brother) * Kanji Kawara as Katsujūrō Manabe (the Constable) * Shōichi Nodera as Yamashiroya Shōzaemon * Eiko Atsumi as Oyae (Shōzaemon’s daughter) * Miyako Hanayagi as Otatsu (O-yae’s nurse) * Hatsuko Konami as Omatsu *Reikichi Kawamura as Kurikara no Genshichi

Production

The film is the first that Ozu made after being promoted from assistant director to director. No script or prints survive today. Part of the film was directed by

Torajirō Saitō was a Japanese film director known for his comedy films. Born in Akita Prefecture, he entered Shōchiku's Kamata studio in 1922 and debuted as a director in 1926. He later worked at the Shintoho and Toho studios. He became known as the "god of co ...

as Ozu was called away for military service before filming was completed. Ozu said that it was an assignment he did not much relish: period films were regarded as less prestigious than modern pieces and he had a script of his own that he wanted to film. He only saw the completed film once, at the premiere, and it did not seem to him to be really his work. (Interview with Ozu in ''Kinema Junpō'' June 1952, Issue 1, quoted in Inoue, Vol 1, p 16)

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{Yasujirō Ozu 1927 films Japanese-language films Films directed by Yasujirō Ozu Jidaigeki films Japanese silent films Swashbuckler films Shochiku films Lost Japanese films Japanese black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Kogo Noda 1927 directorial debut films