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Review

**** “Floating Weeds”

Connoisseur, $59.95.

Yasujiro Ozu’s 1959 remake of his 1934 silent classic retells the story of an itinerant theater troupe. Not one of Ozu’s best films--though one of only a handful available on video--it is, still, clearly the work of one of the cinema’s greatest stylists and creators. The style is simple, serene; nothing is overstated; the camera is always at a low angle (suggesting the first row of a theater, the world from a tatami mat, or a posture of Buddhist contemplation); the writing has a Chekhovian mix of humor and pathos; the actors play with restraint, precision and buried passion. Beautifully photographed in color by Kazuo Miyagawa (“Rashomon,” “Ugetsu”).