Noriko keeps trying to get deeper into the scene, moving upstage and disappearing around internal doorways, desperate to embed herself in that house, so that toward the end, right after she consents to her arranged marriage, it’s a splash when she rises out of the frame, finally bursting free. But free is maybe not the right word, because she violates the frame slowly, mechanically, reluctantly. And it only gets richer from there. Needless to say, Late Spring is so lively and generous it’s thrilling. I had no idea 35 Shots of Rum had such a cool dad.

This is such a beautiful and sad film! One of Ozu's best. There is one thing I realised when I saw this film again; it is actually about two families being forced to change, the father and daughter (mostly forced by the aunt and a girlfriend) and the Japanese nation forced to change by USA. We can see the old tradition dying and the American culture taking over.

I love how (SPOILERS) the wedding at the end is actually a divorce. Brilliant film!

My second Ozu has me quietly appreciative of the director's style, though also rather underwhelmed given his tremendous regard as one of cinema's greatest. His story here brings an emotionally-laden analysis to post-war Japanese society, effectively questioning the validity of antiquated social orders in a new contemporary cultural context. I find myself unable to say the central issue wasn't comprehensively probed, yet at the same time I felt it was missing something. Maybe it's the raw power of The Only Son's very last scenes, maybe it's a more scabrous tone, maybe it's a deeper involvement with the central characters. Whatever it is, I felt its absence, and much as I found myself stimulated and involved by the film it never hit me as hard as I wanted it to.

My second Ozu film after Tokyo Story, Late Spring is a beautiful family drama about a young woman in her late 20s living with her elderly father, who attempts to convince her to get married. Despite what you might think from that short summary, this isn't a comedy, and features some surprisingly poignant moments of beautiful emotion, triggered by the fantastic acting of Ozu regulars Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu. Hara particularly is outstanding, giving a moving performance with startling depth, hiding her emotions darkly behind a wide, beautiful smile. A fantastic film, though Letterboxd has the year wrong (released in 1949, not 1972).

"I try to avoid eye contact to avoid being blinded by the earnestness."

Setsuko Hara's ceaseless beaming has this effect for a good 40 minutes before she gets down to the nitty-gritty of why she's so adamantly against marriage. Then she drops the cheek-to-cheek grin and shows the great hesitancy she has towards separating from her father, allowing for unseen depths of emotion to surface in the slightest gestures and facial expressions. What was once (viewed as) a grating over-enthusiasm for everything known to man becomes a slowly-crumbling facade that Nothing Need Ever Change. Neat stuff.

And I don't know how much of this is just my typical mind-wandering whilst watching Ozu films but ... Ozu and Polanski -- similar visual styles? Both seem very fascinated with angles, particularly in regards to where they place the camera in relation to the actors.

I really wanted to like this one. Every image I've seen from an Ozu film has looked absolutely fantastic. Late Spring did not disappoint in that department. I loved all the shots where the camera was placed behind an object, placed low on the ground, and featured all the characters in a diagonal view. Oh, and how could I forget those wonderful train views?

But story wise, I was not too drawn in as I would have liked to be. The characters and the simplicity were all great, but I just didn't think the story stood out enough as the visuals did.

So lovely...

Noriko keeps trying to get deeper into the scene, moving upstage and disappearing around internal doorways, desperate to embed herself in that house, so that toward the end, right after she consents to her arranged marriage, it’s a splash when she rises out of the frame, finally bursting free. But free is maybe not the right word, because she violates the frame slowly, mechanically, reluctantly. And it only gets richer from there. Needless to say, Late Spring is so lively and generous it’s thrilling. I had no idea 35 Shots of Rum had such a cool dad.

This is my first Ozu film and wow, it was excellent. His trademarks involve thoughtful and meaningful characters, beautiful visuals, and stories that reflect upon real life.

Late Spring is a simple tale about a widower who wants to marry his reluctant daughter. It's a touching portrait of a father daughter relationship and the performances are all very good.

Ozu's camera does everything in this. There are close-ups, landscape shots, and even some tracking shots. The film is very innovative for its time and the scenery portrays post-war Japan as a beautiful place.

Late Spring is fantastic and I can't wait to see more of his films.

I literally just got the title.

The ethics of composition, and composure, render the world a series of agreements for "the good" to ward off the unknown that time brings into human life, this limited form delimited yet more by the frameworks (visible here) that we've erected (over time) to paper over and possibly illustrate the boundaries necessary to life, and to be necessarily sublimed in favor of the flux beyond the home (however much we remain in the everyday).

Would have given this 4 stars if this wasn't my fourth attempt at finishing this film (I kept falling asleep, though I tend to watch a lot of movies when I'm in bed at around 11pm so I'm not exactly doing myself any favours).

Having said the above, I am looking forward to watching the remaining films in the Noriko triology as I really enjoyed the representation of single women in post-war Japan, in Late Spring as well as the relationship between Noriko and her father. While the story line is simple (and the fact I fell asleep a bunch of times) there is something engaging about it. Re-familiarising myself with Japanese customs was also a delight.