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The Only Son Photos

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Movie Info

In 1923, widow Tsune Nonomiya sacrifices everything, even her home, to send her son Ryosuke to high school. However in 1936, making her first visit to Tokyo to see him, she is shocked to find that he has lost his important civil service post and is now a low-paid night school teacher with a wife and son he has never told his mother about. Only an unselfish action by Ryosuke redeems him in his mother's eyes.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

Japanese
Director:

Yasujirô Ozu
Runtime:

1h 27m

Cast & Crew

Choko Iida
Tsune Nonomiya

Shinichi Himori
Ryosuke Nonomiya

Masao Hayama
Ryosuke Nonomiya, as child

Yoshiko Tsubouchi
Sugiko

Yasujirô Ozu
Director

Critic Reviews for The Only Son

All Critics (4) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (4)

Why was I thinking about flower arrangement while watching "The Only Son" the first sound film made by the Japanese master Ozu? It must have involved the meticulous and loving care he used with his familiar visual elements.

February 7, 2017 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
RogerEbert.com
Ozu distills a lifetime of silent misunderstandings and muffled frustrations in a painful succession of false smiles and showy courtesies ...

May 11, 2015 | Full Review…

Richard Brody
New Yorker
... the level of disappointment and despair in this film is unusual and devastating.

August 11, 2010 | Full Review…

Sean Axmaker
Parallax View
It's the noted director's first talkie and one of his best signature family dramas.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: A | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

View All Critic Reviews (4)

Audience Reviews for The Only Son

Jul 24, 2010

you can already see the technical prowess of ozu's technique in this early film. the film was shot well and the story deeply moving. the film is held back slightly by the emptiness of the materialism of the culture that drives the idea of success, and the dialogue was a bit dry at moments, but the undertones of the relationships of the characters were crafted well by ozu. overall a great film.

danny d Super Reviewer