Examining the Portrayal of Emotion within Yasujiro Ozu's Late Work

Abstract

Careful analysis of Ozu's use of tatami mat shots, the shot reverse shot pattern, and sight lines and eye contact is the best way to learn how to effectively portray the emotions of characters on screen. We can see these techniques being efficiently employed in three of his major works, Early Spring, Late Spring, and Tokyo Story. These techniques elicit a sense of life in the viewer. The characters on screen become more than what they are. The life in which the films portray are the emotions of the characters, a sense of time and place within the film, and the connection between the character's feelings and the world they are in. That sense of life is what distinguishes an emotionally relatable film to one that viewers cannot relate to. It is mostly brought about by the empathy for the characters that the viewer is eased into feeling because of Ozu's directing.