For cinephiles and newcomers alike, “The Ozu Diaries” offers an intimate window into the world of Yasujiro Ozu, the Japanese master whose family dramas have moved audiences for generations. Through a rich collection of rare materials from the Ozu family and Shochiku Studio Archive — including personal diaries, letters, drawings, and photographs — Academy Award-nominee Daniel Raim traces Ozu's journey from a rebellious young cinephile in Tokyo's rapidly modernizing 1920s to the cinematic poet behind masterworks like “Tokyo Story” and “An Autumn Afternoon.”
Drawing from his diary entries and rare behind-the-scenes photographs, the film chronicles his years at Shochiku Studios during the silent era, where he moved from playful comedies to nuanced explorations of shōshimin, middle-class family life. By 1931, as Japan's film industry rushed to embrace sound, Ozu stood virtually alone in his resistance. While critics accused him of artistic stagnation and the studio demanded progress, he remained resolute. "I feel like standing firm and capturing the final fade-out of silent cinema," he writes, bound by a promise to his cinematographer who was developing his own sound system. "To keep my word might mean giving up directing completely. I've made my decision. So be it!" Through surviving prints of films like "I Was Born, But..." and "A Story of Floating Weeds," alongside his own notes and sketches, we witness how this principled stand shaped his distinctive visual style — one that would define his artistic vision for decades to come.
Ozu's artistic journey is interrupted when the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II break out. During his service in China, Ozu carries a Leica camera, documenting both the horror and humanity he encounters. The loss of his close friend and fellow director Sadao Yamanaka to the war profoundly shapes his artistic vision, leading to powerful post-war works that speak to both personal and national recovery.
The documentary reveals how Ozu's return to filmmaking after the war produces some of cinema's most moving explorations of family life and generational change. Through his enduring collaboration with screenwriter Kogo Noda, and working with a devoted ensemble of actors including Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, and Kinuyo Tanaka, Ozu develops an approach to filmmaking that reveals the depths within life's ordinary moments.
Featuring reflections from Ozu's closest friends and collaborators, including actress Kyoko Kagawa (”Tokyo Story”), as well as contemporary filmmakers Wim Wenders, Luc Dardenne, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Tsai Ming-liang, “The Ozu Diaries” illuminates how this master filmmaker distilled the quiet poetry of everyday life — capturing moments of humor, heartbreak, and beauty — while navigating the shifting tensions between tradition and modernity that shaped Japan and his art.
For more information,
contact Producer Yuki Machida
