Color . 103 minutes

Takarazuka Eiga / Toho

Written By
Ozu Yasujiro
Noda Kogo

Cinematography
Nakai Asakazu

Music By
Mayuzumi Toshiro

Cast
Hara Setsuko (Akiko)
Nakamura Ganjiro (Kohayakawa Manbei)
Tsukasa Yoko (Noriko)
Aratama Michiyo (Fumiko)
Kobayashi Keji (Hisao)
Shimazu Masahiko (Masao)
Morishige Hisaya (Isomura Eiichiro)
Naniwa Chieko (Sasaki Tsune)
Dan Reiko (Yuriko)
Sugimura Haruko (Kato Shige)
Kato Daisuke (Kitagawa Yanosuke)
Sazan Kakyu (Chief Clerk)
Ryu Chishu (Farmer)

Synopsis
In Kansai, Kohayagawa Manbei runs a sake business that has a difficulty keeping up with the times. As marriage arrangements for his late son's widow Akiko and his youngest daughter Noriko get underway, Manbei is preoccupied with clandestine visits to his former mistress Tsune and Yuriko, who may or may not be his illegitimate daughter. When this comes to light, eldest daughter Fumiko has a huge row with him, but he has a heart attack and the family is devastated. He recovers but soon has another heart attack, and dies at Tsune's place. With Akiko's encouragement, Noriko turns down the arranged marriage and purses her true love who has been transferred to Hokkaido. Akiko expresses the wish to bring up her son Minoru alone, to the great disappointment of her suitor.

Thoughts from co-writer Noda Kogo
The End of Summer was produced by Toho's affiliated company Takarazuka Eiga, with cinematography by Nakai Asakazu. The entire staff belonged to Toho. Although Ozu did not take any Ofuna staff with him, it was an enjoyable experience because everyone put in a lot of effort. The story's inspiration came from the personal experience of a woman who went on outings to Tateshina. One day, her father suddenly fainted from a cardiac arrest. All the children rushed home in a fluster, but he woke up the next morning fit as a fiddle, as if nothing happened.

Articles / Essays

Personal Thoughts and Comments
"Is this it? Is this really it?" The End of Summer rates among Ozu's most emotionally complex, challenging, and ultimately darkest films. As common with Ozu, this is a family study. Here he's examining three separate generations of a family and the relationships within them. The family is presented in such a richly textured examination and the films is able to capture the authentic feeling of "ordinary" living. There are no heroes or villains, only human beings and as is the case with Ozu the separation and miscommunication of the family results from the inevitable changed caused by a death or marriage. Here the primary focus of the family is the decline of the traditional way of life. The film blends hope and sadness to a point that seem as one, culminating in a cameo performance by Ozu-regular Chishu Ryu who reminds us of the "cycle of life" as he watches smoke pour out from a chimney. The End of Summer so closely observes humor and sadness. Simplistic, yet a deeply thought-provoking film that (like all Ozu's films) require repeat viewings to fully absorb the emotional and visual depth.