An Autumn Afternoon

Does not quite reach the level of Ozu's greatest works, but still very good. The precision involved in every aspect of the filmmaking, and the repetition of so many narrative elements from his previous films, leave the impression that Ozu was constantly trying to create a film to match the ideal film that he pictured in his mind, like some painters who seem to produce very similar works over and over again in pursuit of some perfection only they understand. Or else it could just be a formula.

Quiet. Subtle. Beautiful. Joyful. Heartbreaking. Ozu reveals the transformative change that comes as people age, marry, and move into new stages of life. Amid those significant shifts in life (like a marriage), so much stays the same. A man marries off his daughter; the house is the same, but it is forever changed. Ozu's editing has never been better than in the final sequence of this film, each cut more devastating than the previous, until the final long shot ends in emotional catharsis.

Featuring the usual motifs present in most Ozu films, with a variation in the father character's reluctance and resignation, rather than his stubborn insistence. Largely played in light comedic register, until it ends on a bittersweet and melancholic note. It's just an immensely pleasant film.

Master Ozu's style remained relatively static over time, but he was subtly shifting his perspective to accommodate for social change. A.A.A explores many of his usual concerns, especially aging and the generation gap, in addition to the changing role of women, which figured quite prominently in his later works. It's arguably his most beautiful film, exhibiting a near otherworldly control over the frame, depicting ordinary life in elegant still lives as precise as a Mondrian painting.

A visual treat for Ozu fans.

Ozu certainly found his niche -- small family dramas that have a wide appeal, beautifully shot with a knee-high camera. (Getting married in Japan must have been so difficult, since he kept making films about that.) Although I don't love slice-of-life movies, there's something about Ozu's focus on the details that make me appreciate his tales. Favorite moment: the salute dance, although the shot of the bride was a close second.

Incredible oil-painting-like colours. The post-war situation of love and marriage of young girls, in Ozu's depiction, certainly seems like a subtle one: while an "in-time" arranged marriage was still widely perceived as proper and a great form of care (especially for girls), the ideas of romantic feeling and willing marriage seemed to have also been imprinted in girls' mind with Westernisation and become something that people didn't feel they could overlook anymore.

Ozu’s variations on the same themes continue to pay dividends, and this is as full of heartache, humour, and ruminative thoughts on Japanese middle-class society and familial roles as any of his later work, even if the characters weren’t my favourites.

Ozu was just about as obsessed with the themes he covers here (duties of children to parents and parents to children, dealing with aging, etc.) as Hitchcock was with "wrong man" stories, but thankfully, like Hitchcock, the man knew how to make a movie about the subject he was fascinated or obsessed by. This one is another good one, though I found Chishu Ryu slightly more wooden than he was in the other excellent roles I've seen him in (Tokyo Story, Red Beard, etc.)

Usual themes of Ozu, marriage, family, and work depicted in the most banal and repetitive fashion without compromising his unadorned, measured yet compassionate style. There is a strange mathematics of shots: As characters get closer and dialogue gets tense, long shots get closer to become long again after the tension eases. Outdoor shots mark the transition from one sequence to the other. Ozu seems to acquiesce with the grim reality of death and decay with maturity. Consummation of his oeuvre.

It would be disingenuous of me to say that it's EXACTLY like the two Ozu films that precede it, but it's pretty damn close. And the one before it was itself rather repetitive. The only surprise here is the final moment, where a character bursts into tears... as if, after a career's worth of burying emotions under layers of restraint, Ozu was at last free to openly express something. And even though I'm tired of this particular plotline I can't honestly say I didn't enjoy this one on some levels.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of Ozu, and each film of his I see seems just like the last, it's nevertheless pretty difficult to find any real fault with them. Everything proceeds in an orderly fashion, what with his incredibly rigid and precise shooting style. It won't be to everyone's taste, but at the very least it's hard not to like Chishu Ryu.

My favourite one? Beautiful ending. Rewatch for ending and banter scenes

# 372

Ozu's last film is a majestic story. As sensitive, beautiful, and rewarding as all of Ozu's best.

A beautiful masterpiece of color, emotion and subtlety.

All very much in the mold of past Ozu, but it's just so exceedingly well done. Dazzling color design.

Doesn't feel like the last film from one of the medium's most accomplished storytellers - which in itself is fitting for Ozu. Not intended to be his final film. it seems to be his most unflinchingly focused on loneliness. How, upon recognizing parental duty, a man resigns to the isolation of sacrifice, knowing it may never register as fulfillment. Ozu's usual generational stubbornness replaced with alcohol, nostalgia, and grief. The father ends up willingly lost, memories his only keepsake.

Completely charming.

There's a thorough exploration of loneliness here as the father sees others either grappling with it or trying hard to avoid it, whilst he has to face the eventual loneliness he is slowly moving towards. The whole experience is deeply nourishing, beautifully bittersweet, and encourages you to both think and feel throughout.

88.50

ozu really does frustrate me. he clearly has a talent for constructing low-key dramas, but he basically made the same damn movie 30-odd times in his career, and once you've seen a few, it's almost like, what's the point? but here it might even be worse, because his, well, "traditional" concerns seem so utterly out of place on the colour screen. the worst part is that this constant repetition would probably reduce my enjoyment of the first three talkies i saw of his if i were to rewatch them.

watched: 2012, 2016

#315

396

"What do all these subtle modifications to the otherwise similar template suggest?" - Eric Henderson

Ozu-san's gently-paced movies create an authentic window into Japanese life. Here, the Japanese have become a richer, more consumer-driven society, and the war, while still remembered, is beginning to fade into the past. Much humor abounds as the ageing reflect upon their past. One recaptures youth by marrying a young wife. Another lives in loneliness while reflecting over past mistakes. Our protagonist relents and allows his family to move on with their lives, while realizing we all die alone.

Viewed June 25, 2017.

An Ozu film about inter generational differences, widowers, and daughters who need to be married. You'd think the formula would get tired but the execution is so wonderful, the balance between joy and sadness is expertly pulled off, that it doesn't matter that it's not original. Some interesting details are strewn throughout the film and ultimately it's just a very insightful look at human interaction and emotion.

So uh yeah, this is really hardly anything like 35 Rhums is it? What it is like is every other Ozu movie ever. I can't think of any other director i admire more on a formal level without ever caring that much about the actual content.

292

Yasujiro Ozu #6

Ozu's final masterwork is the culmination of a career of delicate and thoughtful filmmaking. It's one of his most refined films, featuring lush photography more angular and colorful than anything else in the director's oeuvre, artfully crafted, authentic characters, and that gentle bittersweetness that only Ozu could capture with such true-to-life fidelity. There are Ozu films that I prefer for being more touching, more humorous, or more entertaining, but this is one of his most elegant.