Movie No. 97 (2013): LATE SPRING

Late Spring (1949)
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Cast: Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara
In Japanese, with English subtitles

I like Late Spring for its simplicity. No tricks. No frills. The narrative is straightforward. Ozu excellently captured on film how the father-daughter strong bond when talk about marriage is floated by the father's sister. The daughter is already of age when women marry and she's nearing the end of her 'shelf life' as a woman. The daughter doesn't bite but the father reluctantly agrees and even tricks his daughter using a scheme (a white lie) that will eventually convince the daughter to give in. 

We see the daughter, the father, the aunt, and the daughter's best friend talk about the would-be groom, but we never have (even) a glimpse of what he looks like. Maybe that's the director's way of making us worry , too, of the daughter's future with her future husband. They all describe him as handsome, like Gary Cooper, and coming from a respected family. Maybe that's enough. This uncertainty is also wonderfully captured in the daughter's sadness hidden behind her forced smile. All scenes showing uncomfortable confrontations between the best friends, between father and daughter, between the father and his sister, and between the father and the best friend are all in great composition typical of Ozu. These make the viewers uncomfortable , too, watching them. Maybe, that's the whole point.

Rating: 4.0/4.00

Date seen: April 21, 2013