Directed by Yasujiro Ozu • 1941 • Japan
Starring Mieko Takamine, Shin Saburi, Hideo Fujino
Following a three-year break from filmmaking while he completed military service, Yasujiro Ozu returned to directing with this pointed family drama which in many ways anticipates the themes he would explore again in TOKYO STORY. His distinctive, contemplative rhythms are on beautiful display in the story of a widow (Ayako Katsuragi) who discovers that her recently deceased husband has left her with nothing but debt and married children who are unwilling to support her—until her most forceful son (Shin Saburi) returns from China and shakes things up.
Up Next in Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
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There Was a Father
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu • 1942 • Japan
Starring Chishu Ryu, Haruhiko Tsugawa, Shuji SanoYasujiro Ozu’s frequent leading man Chishu Ryu is riveting as Shuhei, a widowed high school teacher who finds that the more he tries to do what is best for his son’s future, the more they are separated. Tho...
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Record of a Tenement Gentleman
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu • 1947 • Japan
Starring Choko Iida, Hohi Aoki, Eitaro OzawaYasujiro Ozu’s first post–World War II film takes place in an impoverished Tokyo neighborhood that has been partly destroyed in bombing raids. Here, a hard-hearted middle-aged widow (Choko Iida) reluctantly take...
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A Hen in the Wind
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu • 1948 • Japan
Starring Kinuyo Tanaka, Shuji Sano, Chieko MurataPerhaps Yasujiro Ozu’s darkest film, this devastating account of Japan’s wartime realities follows the struggles of Tokiko (Kinuyo Tanaka), a mother who is forced to turn to sex work in order to pay off her...
