Akibiyori

This glowing portrait of family love and its attendant conflicts stars regular Ozu actress Setsuko Hara as a mother gently trying to convince her daughter to marry. Ozu, who directed Late Autumn in the autumn of his own career, homes in on the daughter, who is reluctant to marry because it means abandoning her widowed mother. The mother considers finding a husband for herself so that her daughter can feel free to marry.

Parental and filial sacrifice is a recurring theme in Ozu”s films, though each time he offers a fresh perspective on this universal theme by placing it in a subtle new light. The actress Setsuko Hara – whose pensive eyes and winning smile made her one of the most memorable female stars of Ozu”s films – starred as the daughter in Late Spring, and returns in Late Autumn as the sensitive caring mother with a strong personality. This time Ozu focuses more on the daughter”s needs and feelings.

Ozu made many films that had a season in the title – with the exception of winter – as an allusion to the cyclical nature of life which does not have a definitive beginning or end. Part of this cyclical philosophy is Ozu”s own recurring investigation of family life, filmed in his signature style: a low camera angle and a static camera.