Yasujiro Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu is famous for his "tatami shot," where the camera is positioned almost directly on the floor. This distinct low-angle perspective aligns the viewer's eye level with a person sitting on a traditional Japanese tatami mat.

Ozu's most universally acclaimed film is the 1953 family drama "Tokyo Story." The poignant narrative follows an elderly couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown, self-absorbed children, only to be sidelined and neglected.

Ozu famously eschewed Hollywood conventions, rarely using camera pans or tracking shots, preferring to establish scenes through still images. He also frequently used the same piece of light, melodic background music to transition between scenes.

The iconic Japanese actor Chishu Ryu starred in almost every one of Yasujiro Ozu's films, from his early silent comedies to his final color masterpiece. He was often cast as the gentle, aging patriarch struggling with generational shifts in post-war Japan.