Yasujiro Ozu's influential masterpiece is a tender meditation on family politics, sacrifice and the status quo. Also included is affecting depression-era drama The Only Son
Yasijiro Ozu's hugely influential award-winning masterpiece, Late Spring is a tender meditation on family politics, sacrifice and the status quo. Noiko (Setsuko Hara), and her father, Professor Somiya (Chishu Ryu), live together in perfect harmony but old certainties are put at risk when an interfering aunt raises the question of marriage. Introducing Ozu's popular Noriko character, Late Spring poignantly examines the gradual compromise between modernity and tradition.
Against the backdrop of depression-era Japan, Ozu's first sound film The Only Son is an affecting drama which observes a single-parent only-child relationship from the mother's perspective. Otsune Nonomiya (Choko Lida) works long hours in a silk factory to fund her son Ryosuke's college education in Tokyo. But when she visits him to see his new life she finds some very startling surprises. Featuring Chishu Ryu as the teacher who convinces Otsune to part with Ryosuke, The Only Son is a powerful tale of sacrifice and hope.
