Good Morning
7.7/10
Rating
94 min
Runtime
1959
Release Year
Yasujirō Ozu
Director
Cast
Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishū Ryū, Kuniko Miyake, Haruko Sugimura
Quick Synopsis
Set in a Tokyo suburb during postwar Japan, Good Morning follows two young boys who decide to stop speaking as a form of protest after their parents refuse to buy a television. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, the film explores the challenges between generations through the perspective of these children. The story includes scenes of local housewives gossiping about a new washing machine and unemployed men trying to find work as door-to-door salesmen, highlighting everyday life in the neighborhood. Using subtle humor, Ozu portrays the quirks of adult behavior while gently critiquing the rise of consumerism during this period. The film is shot in vibrant color and serves as a modern reinterpretation of Ozu's earlier silent film, I Was Born, But....
Detailed Synopsis of Good Morning
A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of intergenerational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth of subtle gags through a family portrait as rich as those of his dramatic films, mocking the foibles of the adult world through the eyes of his child protagonists. Shot in stunning color and set in a suburb of Tokyo where housewives gossip about the neighbors’ new washing machine and unemployed husbands look for work as door-to-door salesmen, this charming comedy refashions Ozu’s own silent classic I Was Born, But . . . to gently satirize consumerism in postwar Japan.
