Late Spring is, along with Tokyo Story, Ozu's greatest work.
Late Spring (1949)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 14
Rotten:0
Average Rating: 8.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: A heartbreaking and fragile story of family devotion and sacrifice, Yasujiro Ozu presents here perhaps his most perfect film. Chisu Ryu takes up his consummate role of the solitary and thoughtful... A heartbreaking and fragile story of family devotion and sacrifice, Yasujiro Ozu presents here perhaps his most perfect film. Chisu Ryu takes up his consummate role of the solitary and thoughtful father, a widower who lives with his young daughter Noriko. Fearful that Noriko will never marry in order to care for him, the father and various supporting family members attempt to find a match for the young daughter, but to no avail. Eventually he is forced to trick his daughter, by pretending to remarry himself, thus forcing the daughter to break out on her own. Relations between father and Noriko come to a sentimental head as the two take a final trip together to Kyoto. Upon returning, Noriko is married and moves away, and the father is left alone. The simple and elegant visual and narrative structure of the film allows the universal story of a father giving up his daughter in marriage to unfurl succinctly and compellingly, making this one of Ozu's most loved films. [More]
Starring: Chisu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Jun Osami
Starring: Chisu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Jun Osami
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Screenwriter: Yasujiro Ozu, Kogo Noda
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Reviews for Late Spring
Ozu's camera is observational, rather than intrusive; even when we get something akin to a close-up, it never feels like it's invading the character's space.
Exquisite ... What little plot there is in Late Spring is adorned by Ozu's Zen-like meditation on objects, surroundings and the Japanese concept of mono no aware -- the ineffable resignation to the reality of life as things are.
Late Spring exemplifies Ozu's rich, mature style, an apparent stylelessness of patient, lifelike rhythms, unobtrusive camerawork, and credibly subtle performances. [DVD]
Ozu's characters don't seek ecstasy, not because they are afraid of it but because they are brave enough to accept compromise.
With no one looking but the camera, Hara's face registers anger, jealousy and humiliation, all in the space of a few seconds.
Yasujiro Ozu's 1949 film inaugurated his majestic late period: it's here that he decisively renounces melodrama (and, indeed, most surface action of any kind) and lets his camera settle into the still, long-take contemplation.
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