Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1961: Nakamura Ganjirō II in The End of Summer

Nakamura Ganjirō II did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Kohayagawa Manbei in The End of Summer.

The End of Summer depicts the relationships of a family underneath an unusual patriarch. 

The End of Summer offers a very different father figure than many films featured in Ozu's films which tend to be a bit self-sacrificing or a bit more reserved. Nakamura Ganjirō II offers a completely new type of father for Ozu's family this time around, and really a different type of presence from so many of his films. Ganjirō's performance offers a very different approach as he presents a man who isn't at all reserved as this business owner, who in many ways isn't at all concerned with the typical expectations of Japanese society, this rather is a man with different concerns. That main concern is the love of life. Ganjirō's performance exudes every pour of his performance as his bright smile is that of a man who just loves the experience of living and wishes to not hesitate in a moment in it. Ganjirō brings so much energy just innately within the character that is particularly dynamic, especially against the more reserved characters around him. He doesn't quite fit in and that is in just the right way in Ganjirō's performance as a man who may be the father of this family, however, he doesn't at all subscribe to the expectations of Japanese society. 

Where Ganjirō's performance is probably most essential is realizing Manbei's character as it relates to really his whole life, which involved being unfaithful to his wife, who is now deceased, and carrying on with his mistress. The mistress who is still living, and whom Ganjirō wants to continue to go see as much as possible it would seem. And it is here where it would be very easy to almost instantly lose any concern for the character, but what is impressive is that not only does he not make you dislike Manbei, he somehow makes him rather endearing. Perhaps if we saw him in his younger days going about this, that would be less sympathetic, but here as the older man Ganjirō brings so much life to his character as he goes about trying to sneak off whenever he can to go see his mistress again. Ganjirō's manner is filled with such a pleasant if not optimistic disposition about the whole thing though with this mischievous glint in his eyes. Ganjirō makes him scheming in a way, but scheming in a way with this kind of silliness about it that it is hard to take it fully seriously. In turn because of that Ganjirō makes it hard not to feel some affection for the old man going about this, even as what he is doing is technically an artifact of behavior that would've caused much grief for the family at one time. 

And what helps is when we see Ganjirō with his mistress, and her son, and he brings such a lively energy to it all. He's overflowing with warmth and affection, and it obviously isn't some simple carnal urge that Manbei finds in this relationship, it is genuine love that he portrays. What's great is how casual Ganjirō is in every moment of it, how natural it is, and just how earnest every moment of these interactions is. One can easily sense the rich history between them in these moments, which isn't at all built on expectation, but rather this very natural manner of just people who love the company of one another. Of course, those who feel a bit less positive about these interactions are the rest of his family, particularly his oldest daughter Fumiko (Michiyo Aratama). And their two interactions on this topic though aren't played as serious drama, but really rather hilarious comedy, as her incisive stares and cutting remarks, against his "aw shucks" reactions are quietly comic gold. As is Ganjirō's portrayal of every moment of Manbei sneaking away, where he truly shows him to be a child sneaking out to basically play with his friends, in his silly manner, which just is hard not to find a bit endearing coming from this older man. And while the concerns about Manbei's health end up bringing more dramatic elements of the film to the forefront, Ganjirō's performance never is weighed down by them, instead showing always, no matter his health, that Manbei's simply a man who is going to enjoy life his way, as long as he can. Nakamura Ganjirō II delivers just a splendid performance here, Ozu's oeuvre presents such a dynamic and unique father figure that contrasts so wonderfully with the typical patriarchs of his films.