There is much eating and drinking in this film, and its height of athleticism is captured in the swing of a golf club. You won't find much action here, but, in the quietest of ways, this movie captures sweeping change in post-WWII Japan.
Mr. Hirayama (Chushu Ryu) has lost his wife, perhaps in the bombing of Tokyo, so his 24-year-old daughter has remained at home to take care of the ex-Naval captain and her younger brother.
The dapper, soft-spoken Hirayama urges his secretary to avoid spinsterhood and settle down. Yet he doesn't question his own daughter's sacrifice until he hears the guilty musings of an older widower whose stay-at-home daughter has missed a chance at love.
Released in 1962, this film captures a culture that still relies on arranged marriages. Hirayama consults his cronies for marriage prospects, despite the obvious unhappiness of his married-but-childless son Koichi (played by the handsome actor Keiji Sada, who died only two years later in a car crash).
In "Autumn," director Ozu's final film, we observe ritualized politeness at every turn. Yet there are glimmerings of change in the female characters, who, while catering to male well-being, also speak out and show their opposition.
This film's male characters show a preoccupation with domestic life. Seemingly saddled with dull, bureaucratic office jobs, they evince few other interests while lingering over saki and beer for hours on end. One wonders whether alcoholism is an underlying problem.
Yet hints of mounting change are unmistakable. No longer can widowed elders rely on the younger generation to hang up their hat and keep a home.
"In the end," Hirayama says, "we spend our lives alone."
Mr. Hirayama (Chushu Ryu) has lost his wife, perhaps in the bombing of Tokyo, so his 24-year-old daughter has remained at home to take care of the ex-Naval captain and her younger brother.
The dapper, soft-spoken Hirayama urges his secretary to avoid spinsterhood and settle down. Yet he doesn't question his own daughter's sacrifice until he hears the guilty musings of an older widower whose stay-at-home daughter has missed a chance at love.
Released in 1962, this film captures a culture that still relies on arranged marriages. Hirayama consults his cronies for marriage prospects, despite the obvious unhappiness of his married-but-childless son Koichi (played by the handsome actor Keiji Sada, who died only two years later in a car crash).
In "Autumn," director Ozu's final film, we observe ritualized politeness at every turn. Yet there are glimmerings of change in the female characters, who, while catering to male well-being, also speak out and show their opposition.
This film's male characters show a preoccupation with domestic life. Seemingly saddled with dull, bureaucratic office jobs, they evince few other interests while lingering over saki and beer for hours on end. One wonders whether alcoholism is an underlying problem.
Yet hints of mounting change are unmistakable. No longer can widowed elders rely on the younger generation to hang up their hat and keep a home.
"In the end," Hirayama says, "we spend our lives alone."