"Hey, look there, a bride is passing by"
"I wonder what sort of family she's marrying into"

A joint family in post World-War-II Tokyo, Japan, inevitably goes their
separate ways as the youngest old-maid daughter finds an unexpected
match amongst attempts by all concerned for an arranged match.

A slow watch, director Yasujiro Ozu's rarely-moving camera captures
the lives of these Tokyo-ites in unpretentious frames: at times,
audaciously lingering on, at others, coyly teasing things out. One
gets to initimiately know this family and witness their internal
dynamics and generational differences as they navigate through life in
this beautiful cinematic work.

Probably not a movie one will be thrilled to watch, or even enjoy
watching (at least, at times: Ozu's works are an acquired taste - a
taste that I myself am still learning to develop), but by the time one
parts ways with it, one can't help but feel sad -- not unlike living
together with a family.

[7 July 2024]