Synopsis
At the annual memorial service of their friend
Miwa, three old buddies propose to find a husband
for his daughter Ayako. She refuses because she
wants to remain by her mother Akiko's side. The
men, who harbour a lifetime crush on Akiko then
scheme to marry Akiko to one of them. This causes
great discard and distress. With the interception
of Ayako's friend Yuriko, mother and daughter
reconcile, and attend the latter's weddings with
a mixture of joy and sorrow.
Thoughts from Ozu In this world, people love to complicate the
simplest matters. Things may appear complicated,
but who knows, the essence of life may be unexpectedly
simple. That's what I aimed to express. It's easy
to create drama through emotions, crying and laughing
denote sadness or joy to the audience. However,
that's just an explanation. Even if feelings are
expressed, it doesn't mean that the characters
personality or style has been properly represented.
For a long time, I have wanted to do away with
all the dramatic elements, to express sorrow without
tears, to capture a sense of life without any
intense emotional upheaval. Since Brothers
and Sisters of the Toda Family, I have striven
for this effect, but this approach is not easy
to master. Late Autumn was acceptable but it hadn't
completely attained that state yet.
Background
The 52nd film, shot from July to November 1960.
Ozu returned to the Ofuna studio, and the film's
setting returned to Tokyo. The original story by
Satomi Ton was written in the same way for Equinox
Flower. Therefore, it is a collaboration of
Satomi, Noda, and Ozu. The screenplay interweaves
some parts of other novels by Satomi. Again, the
daughter's wedding. In contrast to previous films,
the relationship, not between father and daughter,
but between mother and daughter, is the point. The
screenplay of Late Spring was consulted for
reference, and as a result, the story is a variation
of Late Spring. However, the distinctive feature
is the importance of the characters that appear
around the central figures of mother and daughter.
The three middle-aged men (company directors, university
teachers) and their respective families are depicted
with the same diligence. The record of their friendship
is interwoven with the marriage of a late friend's
daughter. (However, their efforts are without relation
to her marriage). Although mother and daughter live
in an apartment somewhere in the suburbs, the "uptown"
spirit is strong. It can be supposed that they would
live in an "uptown" mansion, if the husband
and father would be alive. Ozu does not sympathize
anymore with the shitamachi community or
with the suburbs. "Uptown" and its lifestyle
and surroundings had become the fortress of his
Tokyo. The part of the daughter is played by Toho's
treasure Tsukasa Yoko. Ozu liked her very neat image,
and the pure Hara Setsuko is the mother. The two
women are constructed with the comical, sophisticated
and at the same time indecent talk of the three
men. This opposition gives life to this basically
simple story. However, since Ozu wanted to borrow
two top stars (Hara and Tsukasa) from Toho, Toho
naturally requested compensation. Shochiku and Toho
met with difficulties concerning the exchange conditions
and Tsukasa's appearance was delayed, interrupting
the shooting. White and blue are the basic colors
in the film. Ozu was concerned with stifling the
characters emotions to the utmost. Even among Ozu's
films, which are very stylish, Late Autumn
gives a particularly noble impression. At the end,
all protagonists leave one by one, and finally,
the mother remains alone. In the last scene, the
sensuality of Hara Setsuko becomes visible, hidden
until then. Towards the end of the shooting Ozu
wrote in his dairy about his extreme exhaustion
and lack of energy. His strong body started to weaken.
Personal
Thoughts and Comments
In Late Autumn Ozu shifts his most common
relationship (father-daughter) into a relationship
of a widowed woman (brilliantly played by Setsuko
Hara) who leads her daughter to believe she wants
to remarry (much like the father in Late Spring),
as the mother is pushing marriage onto her daughter
(along with the daughters best friend and three
middle-age men who all wanted to marry her mother),
yet she insists she is fine without a husband.
Late Autumn certainly recalls Ozu's definitive
1949 masterpiece Late Spring, yet it is
a bit more of a gentle, lighthearted comedy that
still plays on many of Ozu's traditional themes
and complex emotions. Ozu's use of composition
acts as another character in the film and captures
most of the expression and emotions of the film
(most notably in the masterful use of color).
Ultimately with Late Autumn Ozu captures the essence
of life's simplicity and humans tendency to complicate
it. At the core of all of Ozu's postwar films
is the unavoidable sadness of life caused by change.
The ending captures this in a perfectly bittersweet
way as we see Akiko alone. She is sad that her
daughter has left, yet is smiling as she accepts
this sadness and is happy for her daughter. But
again we wonder if they've conformed their simple
life of happiness to fulfill the 'obligations'
of life. Simple, humorous, warm, and deeply touching,
Late Autumn is another masterpiece from one of
cinema's true masters of filmmaking.
