Black and White . 124 minutes

Shochiku Ofuna Studio

Written By
Ozu Yasujiro
Noda Kogo

Cinematography
Atsuta Yuharu

Music By
Ito Senji

Cast
Hara Setsuko (Noriko)
Ryu Chishu (Koichi)
Awajima Chikage (Tamura Aya)
Miyake Kuniko (Fumiko)
Sugai Ichiro (Shukichi)
Higashiyama Chieko (Shige)
Sugimura Haruko (Yabe Tami)
Nimoto Ryukan (Yabe Kenkichi)
Murase Zen (Minoru)
Shirosawa Isao (Isamu)
Sano Shuji (Satake Sotaro)

Synopsis
At a family gathering, Mamiya Noriko's boss prepossess a prospective marriage candidate to her. Her parents announce their wish to retire to the countryside and are keen for her to marry. One day, Noriko goes to visit her neighbor Yabe, who was the best friend of Noriko's brother before he was killed in action. Yabe, who works under Noriko's other brother Koichi, is soon to be transferred to Akita. Yabe's mother entreats Noriko to marry Yabe, and impulsively she agrees. Her family is shocked and totally against her marrying a widower, with a small child, a modest income and an outpost job. However, eventually, they accept the inevitable.

Thoughts from Ozu
I wanted to describe such deep matters as reincarnation and mutability, more than just telling a story. For this reason, Early Summer was one of the most demanding work I've done in years. There was criticism about the children being unruly. In my view, children and adults have different "rules". When they grow up, they too will change. As for acting, it's best to leave things unexpressed, something to ponder or savour. Those who appreciate this have themselves reached a transcendent state. Hara Setsuko is a fine persona. If only there were four or five more such persons.

Articles / Essays

Personal Thoughts and Comments
With Early Summer, Ozu uses a common theme of a young middle-class woman who rebels against her parents by choosing her own husband. Once again Setsuko Hara is radiant and Ozu's simplistic approach
is transcendent. Here Ozu again flawlessly works with composition, as well as ensemble in observing the details of everyday living and family. Even for it simplicity Early Summer is endlessly complex and emotional in examining the lives of three generations of family. Ultimately Early Summer is a film of separation. It is beautiful and moving right up to it's final sad and bittersweet moments as the camera moves away from the village (with a rare Ozu tracking shot which works with the opening shot of waves to represent the change and the cycle of life). This film holds a special place to me personally as it was the first Ozu film I ever saw. Early Summer remains among my favorite Ozu films and this belongs mention in the class of his greatest postwar masterworks (Late Spring, Tokyo Twilight, Tokyo Story, Equinox Flower, An Autumn Afternoon).