Floating Weeds review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

It may not be as famous - - or quite as good - - as his accepted masterpiece Tokyo Story, but Yasujiro Ozu's 1959 remake of one of his own silent features is a thoroughly absorbing affair.

Unfolding in a seaside village, Floating Weeds sees a group of travelling players arrive one summer. The troupe's leader Komajuro (Ganjiro Nakamura) looks up his former flame Oyoshi (Haruko Sugimura) and their illegitimate teenage son Kiyoshi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi), a move that doesn't please his current mistress/leading lady (Machiko Kyo). Her response? To plot revenge by instructing an actress to seduce Kiyoshi.

Comprised of expressive colour and carefully composed interiors, Floating Weeds is a lyrical affair. However, the director's visual artistry is not his primary attribute. That would be his humanity, which comes to the fore as the tone shifts from comic to melancholic, allowing Ozu to treat his characters with notable generosity.

More info

Available platformsMovie
Less

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.