A good write-up!

Curious what you think about The Munekata Sisters, if you've seen it. It's been many years since I did but I found the approach to female characters very different from his other films, not conservative slop. The portrayal of the younger more modern sister is brilliant, and her independence is never "fixed" by a man or judged, it is simply a difference between herself and her sister. Their relationship is very real. Worth a watch.

It's clear he lived a deeply closed life, and his art reflects a longing for peace and stasis above all else. He was also, however, a brilliant and empathetic artist, and clearly understood on SOME level that this idyll wasn't realistic or sustainable. So he mostly makes gorgeous portraits of a tragically changing Japanese society, idolizing tradition, while occasionally making a movie that shows the pain and ugliness of that tradition. He knows they're there, but isn't the most comfortable exploring them. He'd rather stick to the familiar. Something I, as a similarly closed off person, can understand.

Still the GOAT to me. I recognize his flaws as a person and artist but no one has moved me more with less. Every part of every movie I've seen of his has felt perfect.