Suicide off the Edge of Explicability: Awe in Ozu and Kore'eda

The work of Japanese filmmakers Yasujiro Ozu and Hirokazu Kore-Eda are examined in terms of Buddhist concepts. Frequently compared to Ozu, Kore-Eda makes films that open forward into an attitude of awe before the immensity and mysteriousness of the universe and all the particulars within it. An unmo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFilm history (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 158 - 165
Main Author LaFleur, William R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sydney John Libbey Publishing 01.04.2002
Indiana University Press
Subjects
Artistic Representation (Imitation)
Awe
Buddhism
Criticism and interpretation
Death
Feature films
Film directors
Japanese Cinema
Japanese culture
Kore-Eda, Hirokazu
Koreeda, Hirokazu
Koreeda, Hirokazu (1962- )
Mono no aware
Motion picture directors & producers
Motion pictures
Motion pictures, Japanese
Movies
Narrative Style
Ozu, Yasujiro
Phenomena
Philosophy
Portrayals
Poverty
Religion
Religious aspects
Suicide
Terminology
Zen Buddhism
Japan
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Summary:The work of Japanese filmmakers Yasujiro Ozu and Hirokazu Kore-Eda are examined in terms of Buddhist concepts. Frequently compared to Ozu, Kore-Eda makes films that open forward into an attitude of awe before the immensity and mysteriousness of the universe and all the particulars within it. An unmoving camera induces a stance of contemplation, one that respects and relishes what may forever remain unknown in things. The stance is one that becomes satisfied with no need to "break through" the world of phenomena to locate some entity that lies somehow beyond the penumbra of the known. Kore-Eda's "Maboroshi no hikari" is discussed in light on these concepts.
ISSN:0892-2160
1553-3905
DOI:10.2979/FIL.2002.14.2.158