That Night's Wife (1930)
"Sono yo no tsuma" (original title)

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda, Oscar Shisgall (novel)

Stars:

Mitsuko Ichimura, Tokihiko Okada, Chishû Ryû

Cast

Credited cast:
Mitsuko Ichimura	...	Michiko, daughter
Tokihiko Okada	...	Shuji Hashizume, husband
Chishû Ryû	...	Policeman
Tatsuo Saitô	...	Suda, doctor
Emiko Yagumo	...	Mayumi, wife
Togo Yamamoto	...	Detective Kagawa

Storyline

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Release Date:

17 March 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

That Night's Wife

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A "quota quickie" silent by Ozu, in the European style

"That Night's Wife" (the English title) is actually a poor translation of the Japanese "Sono yo no tsuma". A better one might be "My Wife on That Night". Briefly, the film revolves around a desperate man who commits a crime in order to support his family, and the moral dilemma the policeman who tracks him down finds himself in. The film abounds with cultural inconsistencies like Japanese wearing their shoes in the house, etc. It seems Ozu was trying to do a Japanese film in the style of the German realist films he must have been seeing at the time. There is very little of what one associates with the later style of Ozu. Still, it is taut and entertaining.