“Floating Weeds” is an emotive little film from Japan directed by Yasujirô Ozu (“Tokyo Story”). Interestingly, it’s actually a remake of an earlier Ozu film (“A Story Of Floating Weeds”). Like many great dramas, not a lot happens in it but you feel moved by the characters and the dialog. For fans of Japanese cinema, it’s also a refreshing change of pace from the samurai epics and monster movies that are so often used as the faces of the nation’s cultural output.

In “Floating Weeds”, a theatre troupe arrives in a small coastal town in the south of Japan. Komajuro Arashi (Ganjirô Nakamura “Summer Clouds”) is the man in charge of the group and he has a very personal reason for choosing to perform in the particular town they are in. He visits his old mistress and his illegitimate offspring while leading actress Sumiko (Machiko Kyô “Rashomon”) becomes jealous.

I really like the very subtle performance from Ganjirô Nakamura as Arashi as it makes his more aggressive outbursts later in the movie all the more powerful. The other cast members are also very impressive. The interactions between the characters are very engaging throughout. It’s also interesting that although the film centres around a theatre troupe, we see only brief moments of them performing their play.

If you are not a fan of slow movies then there is a chance that you will not enjoy “Floating Weeds”. It’s certainly not a visual as a Japanese drama such as “Ikiru”, a film littered with many scenes that are a treat for the eyes. “Floating Weeds” and other Ozu movies such as “Tokyo Story” have repeatedly been hailed as some of the greatest films ever made. I must confess that this is my first exposure to Ozu and while I was definitely impressed by “Floating Weeds”, I could not go that far. Perhaps some of his other films are worthy of such praise but for me, “Floating Weeds” is just a very enjoyable drama.