The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

Director: Yasujirô Ozu

1952 / 116min / 35mm

Ozu’s satirical—and ultimately quite touching—portrait of a marriage first seen in a state of quiet unraveling stars Kogure Michiyo and Saburi Shin as a well-off, childless middle-aged couple who find discreet outlets to express their disappointments and resentments towards one another: the Westernized wife through habitual practice of harmless deceptions and put-downs of the husband that she likens to a sluggish carp in a koi pond; her husband by supporting a niece (Keiko Tsushima) in her flight from proposed marriage arrangement interviews.

“There’s stillness, and then there’s Ozu stillness. After an argument with her husband, Taeko sets off on a train journey. The stops sweep by, but she doesn’t take notice. Defiantly, petulantly, and a bit woefully, she sits.” —Series curator Genevieve Yue

Distributor: Janus Films

Part of Trains: Local Routes