I invited my brother out to see a movie. I had read in the stranger that this movie was the Ozu movie to see. It was two and a half hours long. My brother broke the news after the movie, “I now have a new baseline from which to judge all other movies. This was the worst movie of all time.”

I actually liked it, but the pace was so slow that it was difficult to maintain patience during the movie.

It wasn’t an action movie and it wasn’t a mystery, and it wasn’t really even a drama. The movie is set in around 1950 and is about an aging couple who live in a small village in the south of Japan who go on see their adult children in Tokyo. The children have all moved on and are really too busy to be with their parents. They spend a lot of time with their daughter in law. Her husband, the aging couple’s son, disappeared during the war. She is the one who is gentle and respectful of the older couple.

The camera lingered on characters for a while after dialogue ended. One third of the movie is just breathing and fanning fans. The images have stuck with me. I feel like I got to know the characters. I would recommend that you go see this movie. It is unlike any other movie I have seen. It is a long movie so go with popcorn, soda, candy, and patience.