Is the oriental aesthetics shown in Late Spring constructed by the morbidity of East Asian families? It is true that the East Asian family is a very vague concept, but I think Chinese audiences should not be unfamiliar with part of the way Noriko and her father get along.
I don't think Noriko is "Electra", at least her relationship with her father is not romantic or sexual. But her attachment to her father, and even her father's dependence on her, was indeed beyond the scope of health. Since the father can hardly take care of himself in daily life, and the absence of the mother, Noriko is still not equal to the father in terms of power relations while taking care of the father. She seems to occupy a role between the daughter and the mother. And this is infinitely close to the wife, I think this is the reason why it gives people a sense of "Electra".
Noriko is 27 years old, but does she seem like two adults when she talks to her father, and even to her father's friends? Does Noriko look like a 27-year-old woman? She looks like she's 17 years old. Noriko spent all her time as an adolescent girl in wartime, and there was no mother's role in her life as a reference for her growth. In addition, the opportunity for the beginning of love was deprived of wartime voluntary labor. She is likely to be extremely lacking in sex, love, and marriage. and even human knowledge. Zao Qiuzi, who is a close friend of the boudoir, is not ashamed of divorce and remarriage, and can even say boldly, "It's very simple, marry him, and leave if he is not good", but Noriko smiled at her father's A friend said, "I think your remarriage is ugly." It was not until he was about to get married and met the person he remarried. As far as I know, Japanese society attaches great importance to a sense of boundaries and at least superficial politeness. A twenty-seven-year-old woman, who is not the type to be outspoken and straightforward, evaluates other people's family affairs this way, not out of disgust, obviously It's a lack of common sense.
The sensationalism of "Late Spring" is restrained and even obscure. It can be said that it shows the implicit expression of the Orientals, but is this really sound? Marriage was still a top priority for women, at least in those days. But neither father nor Noriko are completely secretive about their true feelings. The father did not state the actual meaning of marriage and why he thought it was a better choice for Noriko, but told her "you will always get married" and had to use the remarriage to deceive him; Noriko didn't even feel that she The relationship with his father is morbid and even bizarre, so much so that it is his duty to take care of a father who has not been able to take care of him for a long time. The father repeatedly asked Noriko "whether it was serious" or "is it just out of obedience?" Noriko only replied with a definite answer, but did that sound serious and thoughtful? It's like writing reluctance on his face. Judging from his father's reaction to this, he doesn't seem to really care about Noriko's life-long affairs. The groom's candidate is only "I met him, he is very good", he just thinks that it is time to plan a marriage for Noriko , in order to fulfill their moral obligations. After Noriko got married, of course he was lonely, wouldn't he feel sad to lose his only slave? Although there are layers of so-called family packaging, the actual relationship between the father and daughter is very naked. Daughter is a commodity, in addition to use, it must be circulated within the time limit that can still be circulated. Even if she couldn't put it down, she wasn't to the point where she could be regarded as an equal. Do you want to feel moved and melancholy for this relationship?
Lens language is beautiful. The camera positions are all at half-height of the characters, so the characters don't look at the camera when they talk, but look at each other across the camera. Many empty shots without dialogue and characters are also beautiful. I really like the Noh drama that started at 53 minutes (it was only after asking my friends that it was called Noh drama, haha), and I also like the appearance and performance of Setsuko Hara. Her expression was so vivid that she could even tell when she was smiling from the bottom of her heart and when she was covering it up.
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