I’ve just published another review for Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media, this time on a key work of Japanese film theory that’s been translated into English for the first time. Directed by Yasujirō Ozu by Shiguéhiko Hasumi is a foundational text for film theory in Japan, and Hasumi is a key figure in Japanese film culture. The author’s approach — which values attentive viewing and reliance only on the evidence presented by the artwork itself, rather than the interpretive discourse typical of postmodern academicism — allows for a drastic reappraisal of Ozu’s oeuvre, but the book’s value also lies beyond its examination of one director’s work. Despite its inconsistencies and Hasumi’s sometimes insufferable self-indulgence, this text provides a refreshing alternative to the critical approach that has come to dominate European and North American academic writing, and restores the artist and the artwork to the centre of discussion, over the often convoluted musings of writers and researchers who have elbowed their way to the front.
You can read my article on Alphaville’s website here: https://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue28/HTML/ReviewFranklin.html
Or you can read a pdf (with some easier-on-the-eye formatting) here: https://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue28/ReviewFranklin.pdf
The book, translated by Ryan Cook and with a critical introduction by Aaron Gerow, is published by University of California Press (ISBN 9780520396722).
Suggested Citation
Franklin, David. “Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, by Shiguéhiko Hasumi.” Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, no. 28, 2024, pp. 103–109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.28.08
