Walk Cheerfully (1930)

Walk Cheerfully
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Written by Tadao Ikeda and Hiroshi Shimizu
1930/Japan
Shochiku Kinema (Kamata)
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel

Yasue Sugimoto: You don’t even love yourself. How could you ever love someone else?

Even in this early silent picture, you can glimpse some of the genius that was Yasujiro Ozu.

Ken(ji)-the-Knife is the leader of a gang of pickpockets.  He doesn’t give his moll the attention she thinks he deserves.  One day, Kenji glimpses the dainty feet of Chieko peeking out from under her kimono.  He thinks she must be wealthy but really she has arrived in her boss’s car to pick-up jewelry he ordered.  The boss seeks to use the jewelry to win Chieko’s favors but she is not that kind of girl so she quits.

At any rate, Kenji begins courting Chieko.  When she learns he is a criminal, she tells him she doesn’t want to see him again until he has changed his evil ways and obtained legitimate employment.  This isn’t as easy as one might expect.

The plot is less interesting than the glimpse into 1930 Japanese urban life. The gang members are all very Westernized but in an oddly comic way. They do kind of a little dance, instead of bowing, when they greet each other. The walls of the gang headquarters are filled with Western boxing posters and English lyrics from popular songs as well as a poster from “Our Modern Maidens”. The office where the heroine works has a movie poster of Joan Crawford in “Our Dancing Daughters”. Only the heroine and her family wear kimonos.

This is an early silent film by one of my very favorite directors, Yasujiro Ozu. The subject matter is highly uncharacteristic of him. You can see early evidence of the development of his stylistic flair.   At the same time, it is full of the gentle comedy and humanity I love so much.  It was in my Top Ten Favorites for its year and I think I liked it even better the second time.