I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With, The End of Summer (Late Ozu)

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2005)

Being a fan of Jeff Garlin, I was interested in this when I first heard about it.  It finally bubbled up in my NetFlix queue and I was not disappointed.  The story is a simple one, that of a big guy, just trying to find someone to have in his life.  Not wanting a whirlwind romance, but to just find love.  Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt and Amy Sedaris are all very well cast in their roles.  

As I started watching, I couldn’t help but see the similarities to Marty (the 1955 classic for which Ernest Borgnine earned a Best Actor Oscar.)  Not soon after realizing this, the movie acknowledges it directly, as Garlin’s character (James) is upset that he wasn’t asked to audition for the title character in a remake of Marty.  This is the way to update a classic without ruining the original.

This was very well written and the acting was spot on.  It isn’t a comedy in the typical sense, the humor is very low key.  The story unfolds without the usual Hollywood trappings and contrived situations.  It feels very organic and the end of the movie leaves you feeling good.  It’s not life changing, but a great way to spend an hour and a half. 

Late Ozu: The End of Summer (1961, Japanese)

OK, so I’m trying to expand my Japanese cinema experience beyond Akira Kurosawa.  Yasujiro Ozu seems like an natural point of divergence.  While Kurosawa tends to make his films feel grand, Ozu (at least in this film, more to come) made this film feel contemporary and accessible.  In fact, it is hard to believe that the film is almost 50 years old.  Most of Kurosawa’s classics feel like they were filmed in a different era.  End of Summer could have been done in the 70s.

The family is pretty believable and the blend of traditional dress and modern sensibilities is well done.  There is some humor that works well, but the dramatic punch was not as strong as Ozu may have been trying for.  Gangiro Nakamura’s portrayal of the patriarch was convincing.  He was the head of the family but also had a frivolous side to him.  It was fun to watch the interactions with the other characters.

I will definitely be extending my horizons with more Ozu.  Like with Kurosawa, trying to judge him by one film would be ridiculous.  There are many styles to both these artists and I look forward to viewing more of his work.