Watch Again! Look Well! Look!

This article traces some ways in which contemporary filmmakers have borrowed from and referred to the work of Ozu Yasujiro. In particular, the works of Wayne Wang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Suo Masayuki, and Abbas Kiarostami are discussed as adopting stylistic or thematic materials from Ozu’s films. Far from simply copying Ozu’s work, these filmmakers have freely transformed his techniques for their own specific ends. The chapter briefly describes the cultivation of the “Ozu brand” by the Schochiku studio. It also situates Ozu’s development as a director in the context of the influence of Hollywood on Japanese cinema, explaining how Ozu responded to American movie techniques in cultivating his own filmic style.