Hiroshi Shimizu (清水 å® , Shimizu Hiroshi, March 28, 1903 â€" June
23, 1966) was a Japanese film director, known for his silent films
with detailed depictions of Japanese society.Shimizu was born in
Shizuoka Prefecture and attended HokkaidÅ University but left before
graduating. He joined the Shochiku studio in Tokyo in 1921 and made
his directorial debut in 1924, at the age of just 21. A friend and
colleague of YasujirÅ Ozu, he directed over 160 films during his
career.His early work was mostly melodramatic or featured "wakadanna",
the sons of rich merchants who led a playboy lifestyle (somewhat in a
reflection of his own youth). His work in the 1930s, however,
increasingly took advantage of shooting on location and
non-professional actors and was praised at the time by film critics
such as Matsuo Kishi for its realism. Chris Fujiwara has noted the use
of repetition, plotlessness, punctuation, and a modern touch in
Shimizu's work.His later work often focused on children, and Shimizu
himself worked to help war orphans after World War II, an experience
that led to the film Children of the Beehive which Jacoby calls a
“masterpiece of neo-realism†. His films featured all sorts of
children, ranging from those who do not love, or are unloved by their
parents, to children that are rejected by their peers or become social
outcasts to even those that suffer from illness and disability. While
the premise of the stories differed, a common theme often persisted.
Shimizu utilized individuals who are excluded from a group to make
social commentary and criticism of society through the group
themselves.
23, 1966) was a Japanese film director, known for his silent films
with detailed depictions of Japanese society.Shimizu was born in
Shizuoka Prefecture and attended HokkaidÅ University but left before
graduating. He joined the Shochiku studio in Tokyo in 1921 and made
his directorial debut in 1924, at the age of just 21. A friend and
colleague of YasujirÅ Ozu, he directed over 160 films during his
career.His early work was mostly melodramatic or featured "wakadanna",
the sons of rich merchants who led a playboy lifestyle (somewhat in a
reflection of his own youth). His work in the 1930s, however,
increasingly took advantage of shooting on location and
non-professional actors and was praised at the time by film critics
such as Matsuo Kishi for its realism. Chris Fujiwara has noted the use
of repetition, plotlessness, punctuation, and a modern touch in
Shimizu's work.His later work often focused on children, and Shimizu
himself worked to help war orphans after World War II, an experience
that led to the film Children of the Beehive which Jacoby calls a
“masterpiece of neo-realism†. His films featured all sorts of
children, ranging from those who do not love, or are unloved by their
parents, to children that are rejected by their peers or become social
outcasts to even those that suffer from illness and disability. While
the premise of the stories differed, a common theme often persisted.
Shimizu utilized individuals who are excluded from a group to make
social commentary and criticism of society through the group
themselves.
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