Passing Fancy Reviews
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rubystevens
Super Reviewer
January 23, 2011
another completely charming comedy/drama character study of japanese family life, this one concerning a single father and his son. the film is anchored by a marvelous performance by takeshi sakamoto who went on to star in a series of ozu's films. his character is a bit of a layabout and a drunkard whose young son is often frustrated with him. the boy is one of the brat brothers from i was born, but... one remarkable thing about ozu's silents is how few intertitle cards are required to tell the story. also the vince guaraldi style piano scores to these films are delightful. i'm sure they were added by criterion
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
April 10, 2009
[font=Century Gothic]Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, "Passing Fancy" is a winning and charming movie about friendship, family and loyalty. Kihachi(Takeshi Sakamato) is a single father of Tomio(Tomio Aoki) and has pretty much given up on romance. That changes with a chance meeting with Harue(Nobuko Fushimi) who just lost her job and is without a place to sleep for the night. Kihachi arranges lodging for her which leads to employment at the local inn. He becomes smitten with her even though he is quite a bit older. However, she only has eyes for Jiro(Den Obinata), Kihachi's best friend and coworker at a brewery, putting their friendship in jeopardy.[/font]
March 2, 2012
This is possibly my least favorite of the 13 Ozu films I've seen, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. Passing Fancy sensitively explores unconventional father-son relationships, the difficulties of aging and, most importantly, the harsh realities of class struggles. Ozu's keen eye for human behavior is revealed in deceptively simple moments of brutal honesty: "I'm a useless as a dad, but please don't hate me."
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
April 10, 2009
[font=Century Gothic]Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, "Passing Fancy" is a winning and charming movie about friendship, family and loyalty. Kihachi(Takeshi Sakamato) is a single father of Tomio(Tomio Aoki) and has pretty much given up on romance. That changes with a chance meeting with Harue(Nobuko Fushimi) who just lost her job and is without a place to sleep for the night. Kihachi arranges lodging for her which leads to employment at the local inn. He becomes smitten with her even though he is quite a bit older. However, she only has eyes for Jiro(Den Obinata), Kihachi's best friend and coworker at a brewery, putting their friendship in jeopardy.[/font]
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