Soshun (1956)

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (writer)
Yasujiro Ozu (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Office Worker | Co Worker | Japanese Culture | Starting Over | Train

Cast

Chikage Awashima	...	Masako Sugiyama
Takako Fujino	...	Terumi Aoki
Ryo Ikebe	...	Shoji
Daisuke Katô
Keiko Kishi	...	Chiyo Kaneko
Kuniko Miyake	...	Yukiko Kawai
Chishû Ryû	...	Kiichi Onodera
Haruko Sugimura	...	Tamako
Teiji Takahashi	...	Taizo Aoki
Masami Taura	...	Koichi Kitagawa
Eijirô Tôno	...	Customer in 'Blue Mountain' milk bar
Kumeko Urabe	...	Shige Kitagawa
Sô Yamamura	...	Yutaka Kawai

Also Known As:

Early Spring (USA)

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Enoshima, Kanagawa, Japan

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ikite wa mita keredo - Ozu Yasujirô den (1983)

Ten Years After World War II, Modern Japanese Life Takes Shape

"Early Spring" is one of the lesser-known Ozu films, but it is worth watching to complete his view of post-war Japan, and the complexities of returning to daily life. When "Early Spring" was released, Japan was two years into its independence from American occupying forces. Tokyo and other major cities were rebuilding. Lives were getting back to some kind of order -- and with that, the challenges of dealing with a group think society also were present.

The relationships in this movie show the influence traditional Japan still held on modern life. The closeness of the wife and her mother; the courtesy that the husband shows the mother in law, even as he simply drops his clothes to the floor for his wife to pick up; the traditional house with few conveniences. For anyone interested in Japanese cuisine, the preparation of oden (a kind of winter stew) is a textbook lesson, but it also weaves in with the plot.

"Early Spring" lacks the humor and grace of "Early Summer" and it is not as masterful as "Tokyo Story" but it offers an interesting look at the lives of the young salarymen and office girls, at a time when Japan's post-war culture was solidifying. It would be interesting to see a remake, because Japanese life has changed, and yet has remained much the same.