Floating Weeds

In 1959, Yasujiro Ozu—widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest and most influential filmmakers—remade his 1934 silent classic, A STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS, in color with the celebrated cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (UGETSU).

Setting his later version in a seaside location, Ozu otherwise preserves the details of his elegantly simple plot wherein an aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all.

Roger Ebert considered it one of his “Ten Greatest Films of all Time,” and it’s counted as one of the biggest influences on modern Spanish directors, like José Luis Guerín.

Presented in Japanese language with English subtitles.