Five Dedicated To Ozu (2003) (aka Five)
Abbas Kiarostami
Silent
“…”
Here is a filmmaker who understands what Ozu stood for and how big a responsibility the title of the film places on him. A filmmaker in the tradition of Ozu himself, Kiarostami does not go for cheap attention using complicated mise-en-scene and steady-cam shots. He doesn’t just see the world but observes it. He studies the relation between the various planes of the image. He experiments with the distance of observation and the range of emotions they evoke. In essence, he analyzes the subjective and objective components of the cinematic image never once losing the most important ingredient of his entire body of work – humanity. And that is why “Five” stands as a fitting tribute to one of cinema’s greatest humanists, by another.
March 1, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Ozu. Brilliant. It’s the ocean that calls out to the camera.
March 1, 2009 at 9:26 pm
You bet. If I had a theater, I would project this film for eternity and just make up my own private island…
March 2, 2009 at 1:17 am
I’m yet to see this one. But hoping I can catch it soon and cherish few memories that Srikanth wrote about…and a wonderful writeup srikanth. Will make sure u meet Kiaorstami and discuss your plans of private island if we manage to get him here. Just make sure you carry black shades. After the mystery of Godard wearing one, both WKW and Kiarostami are never seen without their trademark glasses:)
March 2, 2009 at 6:56 am
So THAT is the secret of great direction eh? :)
April 22, 2009 at 11:36 pm
[...] completed, Mr. Elena wraps up Kiarostami’s subsequent features – ABC Africa (2001), Ten (2002), Five (2003) and 10 On Ten (2004) – are wrapped up within a few pages in spite of the fertility of the [...]
January 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
[...] at large, as in Homework (1989) and Ten (2002), or towards cinema, like in Close-Up (1990) and Five (2003), or towards the director himself, as in The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) and Life… and [...]