What a marvelous actress. So talented and so beautiful. I love the last scene where she talks to her father in law, after the funeral. She is amazing in that scene.
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Wonderful actress! And incredibly beautiful!
shareSetsuko Hara was a once-in-a-generation level talent. She started out as just a pretty faced teenager and sometimes model. I don't think she ever had any serious training as an actress. When she retired, she went so far as to say that she had never even enjoyed acting, but that she only did it to support her large family.
And yet she's got it! Whatever 'it' is, she's got it. Ozu was a lock-down kind of director, shooting scenes over and over, almost TRYING to drain any emotion out of his actors' performances. And yet Hara gives such powerful and honest performances. I'm tempted to compare her with 'method' actors from the US in the 50s, even though she certainly never trained to act in that style. She was just a great natural talent, could easily get into the mind of the characters she played and react spontaneously to what the scene was about. Chishu Ryu (the old father) and Haruko Sugimura (Shige) are also great actors in Japanese cinema, yet they are clearly from the traditional school of acting, that playing a part means saying lines on cue while using techniques (mannerisms, facial expressions, gestures, etc.) appropriate to what is being said or portrayed. Setsuko Hara is NOT like that, instead responding to what happens in the scene naturally, finding the natural emotional response within herself that the character should feel. If you liked her in Tokyo Story you should see her in Late Spring, where Ozu gives her more free reign to act with emotion.
In Japan, she was voted as the top Japanese actress of the 20th century. I don't recall who did the poll.
Late Spring is great! I agree.
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I wanted to marry her about half way through and she just got more awesome and beautiful from there.
shareYes, she is totally incredible, I was crying with admiration!
shareEvery scene with her is dazzling. For me she steals the show despite the whole ensemble being such amazing actors. One of the best performances I have ever seen. And what a doll!
My 100 favorite movies http://www.imdb.com/list/Uvw_F2_GMx8/
What are your favorites?