Late Spring / The Only Son

Late Spring (Banshun) (1949, 108 min)

Script: Kogo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu (based on the novel Chichi to Musume (Father and Daughter) by Kazuo Hirotsu)

Cast: Chishu Ryu, Setsjuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura, Jun Usami

Yasijiro Ozu's hugely influential award-winning masterpiece, Late Spring is a tender meditation on family politics, sacrifice and the status quo. Noiko (Setsuko Hara), and her father, Professor Somiya (Chishu Ryu), live together in perfect harmony but old certainties are put at risk when an interfering aunt raises the question of marriage. Introducing Ozu's popular Noriko character, Late Spring poignantly examines the gradual compromise between modernity and tradition.

The Only Son (Hitori musuko) (1936, 83 min)

Script: Tadao Ikeda and Masao Arata (based on the original story by 'James Maki' (aka Yasujiro Ozu))

Cast: Choko Iida, Shinichi Himori, Yoshiko Tsubouchi, Mitsuko Yoshikawa

Against the backdrop of depression-era Japan, Ozu's first sound film The Only Son is an affecting drama which observes a single-parent only-child relationship from the mother's perspective. Otsune Nonomiya (Choko Lida) works long hours in a silk factory to fund her son Ryosuke's college education in Tokyo. But when she visits him to see his new life she finds some very startling surprises. Featuring Chishu Ryu as the teacher who convinces Otsune to part with Ryosuke, The Only Son is a powerful tale of sacrifice and hope.