Yasujirō Ozu
Japanese · 1903–1963
Filmmaker whose serene domestic dramas, told through his signature low-angle "tatami shots" and rigorous visual grammar, revealed the profound depths of ordinary family life.
Wikipedia ↗“人間の表面だけを撮ろうとしているが、その表面の最も深い層には、かなり普遍的なものがある。”
Japanese
“I try to depict only the surface of human beings. But in the deepest layer of that surface is something quite universal.”
“僕は余分な言葉を使わず、一つの映像を次の映像につなげて、できるだけ少ない場面で物語を表現していく演出法を頭の中で練り上げてきた。”
Japanese
“I have formulated my own directing style in my head, proceeding without any unnecessary words, simply placing one image after another, combining them to express the story in the fewest possible scenes. I want to portray a man's character by eliminating all the dramatic devices.”
“I want to make people feel what life is like without delineating all the dramatic ups and downs.”
Japanese
“無”
Japanese
“Nothingness.”
A single character meaning "mu" (nothingness/void), central to Zen Buddhism. Ozu chose this as the only inscription on his grave.