TIFF/NFAJ Classics: Yasujiro Ozu Week

A Rousing Retrospective for a Classic Master

Ozu Yasujiro Kantoku Shukan
小津安二郎監督週間
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu (小津安二郎)
Japanese with English subtitles
Venue: National Film Archive of Japan | October 24 (Tue) to 29 (Sun), 2023
Official website: www.nfaj.go.jp/english/exhibition/ozu202309/
Theater website: www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/ozu202309/#section1-2
Theater website: www.nfaj.go.jp/english/visit/access/
Tariff:  General: ￥1,300 / Students and Seniors: ￥1,100 / Under 19: ￥900
Advance tickets: https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/ozu202309/#section1-3

The Tokyo International Film Festival and the National Film Archive Japan (NFAJ) are celebrating legendary filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu on the 120th anniversary of his birth (and 60th anniversary of his death) by showcasing the most comprehensive of the many retrospectives that have been popping up at film festivals everywhere. All together, you have the chance to see 37 works, from silent shorts to full-length masterpieces, from comedies to family dramas. NFAJ will be screening 17 Ozu films from the silent era to the early talkies, all on 35mm film with English subtitles.

The highlight might possibly be the world premiere screening of the longest existing version of A Straightforward Boy (1929), with newly discovered footage. The film is about a young boy who is abducted, but is so mischievous, he simply confounds his kidnapper. This very first screening of the 21-minute version includes funny exchanges between the boy (played delightfully by Tomio Aoki) and his kidnapper’s boss, as well as some tracking shots, and other shots. It will screen alongside the preexisting shorter version (14 minutes).

A Straightforward Boy, 突貫小僧, 14min
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Courtesy of Hideo Tsukiyama

Ozu completists will know many of the titles and may even have seen most of the films, but they’re rarely shown in Japan with English subs, so whether you’re viewing them for the first or umpteenth time, we encourage you to explore as many as you can.

October 26, 2023, Thursday, 7:00 PM
Days of Youth / 学生ロマンス 若き日
1929 / 103 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 28, 2023, Saturday, 7:00 PM
大学は出たけれど / I Graduated, But..
1929 / 13 min/ 20fps / 35mm / Silent / BW / Partial
東京の女 / Woman of Tokyo
1933 / 46 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 24, 2023, Tuesday, 6:30 PM
淑女と髯 / The Lady and the Beard
1931 / 74 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW
突貫小僧［パテベビー短縮版］/ A Straightforward Boy
1929 / 14 min / 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW
突貫小僧［マーヴェルグラフ版］　A Straightforward Boy
1929 / 21 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 26, 2023, Thursday, 3:00 PM
Walk Cheerfully / 朗かに歩め
1930 / 96 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 27, 2023, Friday, 1:00 PM
That Night’s Wife / その夜の妻
1930 / 65 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 29, 2023, Sunday, 1:00 PM
Tokyo Chorus / 東京の合唱コーラス
1931 / 89 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 29, 2023, Sunday, 3:40 PM
Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? / 青春の夢いまいづこ
1932 / 113 min/ 18fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 25, 2023, Wednesday, 6:20 PM
Passing Fancy / 出來ごころ
1933 / 114 min/ 21fps / 35mm / Silent / BW

October 25, 2023, Wednesday, 3:00 PM
A Mother Should Be Loved / 母を恋はずや
1934 / 71 min/ 24fps / 35mm / Silent / BW / incomplete version

October 28, 2023, Saturday, 1:00 PM
A Story of Floating Weeds / 浮草物語
1934 / 86 min/ 35mm / Silent / BW

October 27, 2023, Friday, 3:30 PM
An Inn in Tokyo / 東京の宿
1935 / 80 min/ 35mm / Talkie / BW

October 27, 2023, Friday, 6:40 PM
The Only Son / 一人息子
1936 / 82 min/ 35mm / BW

October 24, 2023, Tuesday, 3:00 PM
What Did the Lady Forget? / 淑女は何を忘れたか
1937 / 71 min/ 35mm / BW

October 28, 2023, Saturday, 3:40 PM
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family / 戸田家の兄妹
1941 / 105 min/ 35mm / BW

National Film Archive Japan