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Tokyo Chorus

Directed by Yasujirô Ozu

Written by Kôgo Noda

Japan, 1931

After launching its 2013 schedule with one of the most unrelentingly somber works of art ever committed to celluloid, the Tsff took a more genial tack on the second night of its run. Revered for his celebrated series of post-World War Two family melodramas, Yasujirô Ozu actually began his career as a comedic filmmaker – and this rambunctious movie (which befited immensely from keyboardist Laura Silberberg’s jaunty live accompaniment) reflects that. As special guest speaker (and Shinsedai Cinema Festival co-programmer and co-director) Chris MaGee argued during his introductory remarks, Tokyo Chorus occupies a crucial place in Ozu’s oeuvre, announcing a “familial turn” that would eventually produce masterpieces like Late Spring (1949) and Tokyo Story (1953).

The intense dramatics of those later efforts are mostly absent from Tokyo Chorus, but that does not mean that this isn’t a serious film. In fact,...

I have featured posters before for films that were never made, but this is a poster for a film that no longer exists.

Earlier this year that essential blog of Japanese graphic ephemera, Pink Tentacle, posted a startling collection of posters, magazine covers and advertisements from the 1920s and 30s (“a glimpse at some of the prevailing tendencies in a society transformed by the growth of modern industry and technology, the popularity of Western art and culture, and the emergence of leftist political thought.”) The graphics were all taken from the book Modernism on Paper: Japanese Graphic Design of the 1920s-30s which was published in 2003 but is now out of print and hard to find.

All of the graphics are fabulous, but one that really caught my eye was labelled “Young Miss” (Ojo-san) movie poster, 1930. The title didn’t ring any bells, but then the other day I was...