Is Ozu a poet making movies or a movie maker creating poetry? In an Ozu film, what matters is not only what is said and what is seen but what is not said and what is not seen. He brings out and cultivates the nothing that surrounds and defines every any. Important scenes are not only compositions featuring characters and dialogue but the uninvolved forested hillside or the space between two urban buildings.
Ozu is as meticulous with his imagery as a poet is with every word. There is nothing extraneous, nothing wasted. Ozu distills the human condition to its simplest essence.