Ozu

Anthony Lane in reviewing a new film called "Tokyo Sonata" said he couldn't help "but summon the ghost of Yasujiro Ozu, the serenist of Japanese filmmakers".
He certainly was. I have seen only two of his films, "Tokyo Story" and "Autumn Afternoon" and thought them both marvellous and, yes, serene.
There is no flashy camera work with Ozu: he films a scene with the camera usually at ground level and with the characters sitting at a table or squatting on a mat; the camera doesn't move, I can't recall much, if any, cuts - it's just shot in one scene and that's it, he then shoots the next scene.
The acting is always superb in a gentle, serene way; there's no wild displays of histrionics by these homely, middle-class people; the drama arises out of conflicts which are domestic. No one is murdered, no one is beaten, no one shouts at another; there are no chases. This is not Kurosawa with his raging battle scenes and strangulations and rages (Incidentally, when Kurosawa was asked who his favourite film maker was he said "John Ford of course"). No this is the cinema of serenity where relationships are put under a microscope and the little quirks the characters possess are revealed in a way that is gentle and, yes, serene.
I think he made about 16 films. He lived with his mother until her death. He smoked all the time and, I believe, liked a drink too. He was sergeant in the Japanese army. I can't imagine him killing anyone.