Ozu and Thorton Wilder

[Lokke Heiss]

Am going to an Ozu festival here in New York...my exposure to Ozu has been spotty, with bad prints, badly projected, so I'm very late to the game, but I'm finally understanding why so many people think he's great.

Today on the month long Ozu festival was Late Spring (1949), about a widower and a daughter who live together, since the daughter is nearing thirty, the father is worried about what will happen to her.
Stories about daughters leaving their fathers have a grand archetype to follow, and that archetype is Beauty and the Beast, which is all about this question. It's a fascinating storyline, because their are no bad guys in this plot, the only thing the daughter is 'guilty' of is loving her father too much! Ozu plays with his version of the fairytale, in his version the possible beasts are far and few between, as the war has killed many of them off. Also his daughter has been gendered in a male way, she is more his only son than daughter and so is horrified at the thought of being pared off with a man. I'm only touching the surface of this great film.

There is so much more to talk about, but to just pick out one point in particular-

He's considered the most Japanese of directors, but in many ways, this film is all about America's influence (pervasive) in Japan after the war.

Now here's my question: The soundtrack reminds me VERY much of Aaron Copeland's score for Our Town (1940), esp. the first half an hour or so. There are subtle musical cues of other pieces of music through the film, but I hear Copeland more than anyone.

Does anyone know out there if Our Town made it to Japan? I can't think of a more 'Ozu' like American film. Any Ozu scholars out there who know about any connection?
I'd call David Bordwell, but uh...he's a public figure and I'm not.