Record of a Tenement Gentleman

Viewing a film by the late Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu can be a bit like watching water boil. This rarely seen postwar effort, about a crotchety widow (Iida) who discovers maternal love when she reluctantly takes in an abandoned boy, may be slow-moving by Hollywood standards, but Record of a Tenement Gentleman rewards patience with rich sentiment that's never mawkish. It's a must for Ozu fans as well as the uninitiated, though it should be noted that the source print is slightly marred by occasional audio static. B