Ozu and the Ethics of Indeterminacy

This book re-examines cinema studies through the work of Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu, employing the multiple methodologies and indeterminacy of Ozu's films as a model for discussions of cinema's relationship to the world and the formation of film studies as a discipline.

Analyzing Ozu's use of cinematography, narrative, and color, Daisuke Miyao (UC San Diego) theorizes the indeterminate in film-the seen and unseen, human and nonhuman, domestic and international-to initiate a multi-directional dialogue on the study of cinema that reaches beyond auteurism and culturalism to establish a new basis for disciplinary conversations.

"Daisuke Miyao beautifully reveals how Ozu turns every color choice, every cut, every object and moment of transience into an act of compassion for the spectator. His luminous book captures the quiet humanity inside Ozu's cinema and reminds us that how we look at film - and life - determines how gently we move through it." -- Daniel Raim, director of, The Ozu Diaries