Entre la tradición y la modernidad: la búsqueda de lo esencial

• Autores: Antonio Santamarina Alcón
• Localización: Nosferatu: Revista de cine, ISSN 1131-9372, Nº. 25-26, 1997 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Yasujiro Ozu), págs. 14-23
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Between tradition and modernity: in search of essence
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• Resumen

  • In the middle of a crossroads between tradítional and modern .Japan, Ozu's work reflects the contradictions resulting from new lifestyles emerging in a society like Japan. entrenched in almost feudal standards. Following a brief historical sketch, the author of the article analyses the scars left by this clash by looking at several of his silent films, paying special attention to aspects such as the disintegratinn of the family and lthe crisis in patriarchal authority. Thís allows him, on one hand. to recognise a kind of scepticism in Ozu as he contemplates the society of his time: and on the other hand, observe the film-maker's hopefulness in thc face of a new situation. In the second part of the article, preceded by a look al postwar Japan, the author explores the films made after 1945 and observes tha -after the definitive breakdown of the family unit and the impossibility of it being substituted for other collective forms of life, such as company life, neighbourhood or friends- Ozu's work during this period is based on an underlying theme (the concept uf loss) while allowing us lo perceive a certain amount of individuality in his images. Both aspects are then linked to the awareness the main characters' in these films have of the flow fleeting life is (transposition of the subject of loss) and of loneliness (final affirma tion of individuality) which threaten them in the final scenes of the film. Finally, the author of the article suggests that the filmmaker's work is oriented -in spite of all the changes in Japanese society dictated by modernity and the passing of timetowards a search for essence, which seems to be confined, perhaps due to the intluence of Zen philosophy, to simple everyday life.