Synopsis
"Shot by Japan's greatest cinematographer,
Kazuo Miyagawa (
Ugetsu,
Rashomon,
Enjo) and starring an extraordinary ensemble, the rarely seen
Floating Weeds is suffused with the nostalgia and bittersweetness of the late Ozu. A remake of his silent
A Story of Floating Weeds, the film focuses on an itinerant acting troupe, "weeds" who "float" through the countryside. When they arrive in a remote fishing village after a long absence, the head of the troupe is confronted with a dilemma of paternity. He must either reveal himself to be the father of one of the locals, a strapping young postman who believes him to be only his uncle, or watch as the villager is enticed into an affair with a young actress. The complications are ruefully funny, but as always with Ozu, shade into melancholic resignation.” –
Harvard Film Archive