Chichi ariki

Throughout the film I was troubled by Shuhei's decision to leave his son, and it's not one I could ever make myself. Ever. Even if I was guaranteed my son would find prosperity at the end of it. But would that be selfish? Would my son get it? Ryohei GETS it, but still hates it.I'm stuck in that last scene. Duty, love, togetherness, provision. It's all jumbled into this confused, scared, aching lump by the end. Ya got me Yasujiro. Ya got me right in the feels.

Concerns the relationship between duty and individual freedom and its connection to happiness and personal well being. It isn't top shelf Ozu as these themes have been better explored elsewhere in his oeuvre. As others have mentioned, it's difficult to know what Ozu's stance on the duty-trumps-all 'message' is given the context of its production, but as expected there is a subtle sadness lurking beneath the surface of this regimented world that hints at his real thoughts on the matter.

The ending is dumb, the rest is not.

A math teacher retires after a boy dies in a accident while in a school trip and decides to move to Tokyo so he can provide a better life for his only son. No sign of nationalism despite the son-do-your-job-and-be-a-good-citizen advices from the father. As the story advances with no editing remarks, it evolves into an absorbing drama about the brief, unique moments that make family matters so sensitive and perennial -- like to go fishing with your father or have a talk for hours into the night.

Should not be overlooked. Broadly speaking, it is easily recognizable as an Ozu film, but those who accuse Ozu of making the same film over & over might find this one refreshing. The most interesting thing about this film is the question of whether the surface reading (a tale of fatherly devotion) represents Ozu's true message -- this is complicated by the fact that the only surviving print is a censored version recut during the US occupation. One of my favourite Chishu Ryu performances.

A decent family drama, missing none of Ozu's expected trappings. Chishû Ryû delivers a standout performance as a father through the ages.

Despite the, on the surface, rather heavy-handed wartime message, and the jarring cuts made by the postwar occupation, this is still my favorite Ozu out of the ones I've seen so far.

Unlike a lot of people here I couldn't really get into this one. While I felt that both the father and the son loved each other I thought it was stupid to force the son to be away from his father because he had to sacrifice his own happiness for the good of his profession. The acting was great and the story was low key but still dramatic. I enjoyed the scene before the time jump more but altogether this one just didn't do it for me.

89.00

A disappointing Ozu. Too subtle for it's own good with no production values because Japan was in the middle of a expensive war, so he had to be very economical in how he made this one. Doesn't mean it doesn't have charms, just not enough for me to care much for their problems.

Star Rating: ★★★★

Viewed June 22, 2015. Minor Ozu. It seems like he's going through the motions, ticking all of the boxes necessary for making an Ozu movie. It's a somber family drama, filled with all of the visual simplicity and emotional pain that one expects out of his films. It's all done well, and there are moments that are particularly beautiful, like the hypnotic shot of father and son fishing together, or the entirety of the ending, which is appropriately depressing for a movie like this one.

If you like Ozu, you'll probably like this. The only thing unusual about it is that it contains some pretty massive time jumps, but I wouldn't say that's anything special. A fine tale of a father-son relationship. It's odd to see Chishu Ryu looking so young. Welp, that's about all I have to say.