I think culture and Asian physiology are in play as well. An ama diver was pretty much viewed as a very independent and mature woman regardless of age. Any woman pursuing this type of work was far more free-spirited, mature and physically capable than their other female contemporaries. Chronilogical age was not as much a consideration whereas capability was.
And assuming the actress was 19-20, many actors look far younger than they actually are. In this case, blame it on her Asianess. I’m not saying a man of the age who played the gangster is normal for a woman of the ama diver actress’s age, but it’s far more normal given the circumstances and even more normal than what we see play out in all societies. Tony Randall - hardly a first tier power player - was 75 when he married his wife Heather - she was 25. High-five to him. ?? to her. Ugh.
Juzo Itami loved putting Japanese society’s cultural quirkiness on full display. All the vignettes in Tampopo are either pretty authentic, are rooted in reality or are commentaries and criticisms of Japanese society. He saw so much that was odd or wrong with the society that he lived in and wanted to speak out against it.
The young junior salary man who goes against the tide of consensus and ordering out of line and requesting wine instead of beer, thereby becoming “the nail that stands out” is a strong lash-out at not only salary men, but Japanese conformity in general. Society there flows relatively smoothly because almost everyone thinks and acts the same. But at what cost? Individuality, creativity and true freedom.
The group of homeless men who embraced and took care of the the ramen shop owner’s son runs fearfully against the perception of homeless people not only to most, but to Japanese society in particular. There is such a fear and loathing of those who so “miserably failed” in Japanese society that they live in filth, have no ability to house themselves and are excommunicated from any chance to redeem themselves.
Itami was master of observation, and his near-manic obsession with criticizing what he saw wrong, odd or just plain crazy with his society is for us to laugh at and reflect on. Itami says no. The homeless, like us, are humans who were once like us and deserve some sense of normalcy and respect as well.
View this and Itami’s other movies as not only pure entertainment, but also as a commentary on various aspects of the human condition.
Thanks for this piece @aaqjr. I read about that, not in '97, probably in '05 when Adelman was doing press for his book. It caught my attention, not because I knew Itami’s work, but it was a true crime mystery about a well-known Japanese director. I had know idea this was the man. I like happy endings, so figured he was still somewhere in the world making quirky films with his cool wife. Sucks.
Kôji Yakusho, who played the gangster, is nine years older than Yoriko Dôguchi. It’s pretty normal for a 19-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man to fall in love. Since that scene’s a flashback, we already know the characters are still in love around ten years later. Enduring love at first sight, how is that not romantic?
Im sure when casting the role, the choice of the pearl diver was completely, innocently, based on her amazing acting skills and other-worldly beauty, and had nothing to do with the fact she looks half her age. After all, how many actresses of a legal age can slurp so convincingly?
[quote=“robert, post:88, topic:4224”]
Since that scene’s a flashback, we already know the characters are still in love around ten years later. Enduring love at first sight, how is that not romantic?
[/quote]Wait. What? The ama diver and the moll are the same person? Please don’t make me have to watch it again…
BTW… I watched the ice cream scene with my husband. Now that I have read your perspective and the attached link and know the child is a boy (very pretty boy btw) it seems a little more innocent and sentimental. But funny enough, husband didn’t agree. I purposely didn’t tell him about our dialogue or my opinion. He said something to the affect of “That don’t look right.”
Why are you apologizing? Robert is being too literal. The scene is clearly of a seemingly callow, teenage, water nymph seducing the sophisticated older man. So what. No need for Robert to defend the director. He wanted us to have that perception. It doesn’t matter what the actual ages are of the actors. They probably made sure the actress was of age so they didn’t get in trouble. But they picked her because she looked like a kid. Anne Bancroft was only 6 years older than Dustin Hoffman. But in The Graduate she says “Benjamin I am twice your age.”