Abstract

The Japanese film director, Yasujiro Ozu had directed 54 films since his first film The Sword of Penitence(1927). The Late Spring(1949) is generally considered as the first film of the latter part of his filmography. However, in terms of his film style, one could ask what makes distinct differences between the former and the latter part of the filmography. His early and late films have common denominators such as the ellipsis and jump of important moments in the film narrative development. This thesis is a study on the narrative characteristics of There was a Father(1942), one of early Ozu films. In other words, it could be said that the ellipsis and jump are not only the characteristic of late Ozu but one of early Ozu’s narrative. It is an attempt to divest Ozu’s films of a preconceived notion in which late Ozu is generally discussed rather than early Ozu. It is also the study of the relation between the narrative and the surplus shot. In the film There was a Father, one could see scenery and still-life shots when the important moments such as death and farewell are omitted. From this, the narrative gets stereoscopic vision rather than monotonous plot. The little and minor movement which is caused by the ellipsis and jump has an influence on the entire body of the narrative. It could be understood that Ozu’s narrative style is an effort to keep the distance from the conventional film style of the classical Hollywood. In other words, Ozu removes unnecessary elements from the film and tries to approach the nature of the cinema. Ozu’s modernity represents the stylistic experiment by innovative ways. The theme and story which can be regarded as triteness do not look old-fashioned in his films because of his creativity and originality for the film style.