Sanma no aji (1962)

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (screenplay) &
Yasujiro Ozu (screenplay)

Release Date:

1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Widower | 1960s | Father Daughter Relationship | Japan | Family Relationships

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Chishû Ryû	...	Shuhei Hirayama
Shima Iwashita	...	Michiko Hirayama
Keiji Sada	...	Koichi
Mariko Okada	...	Akiko
Teruo Yoshida	...	Yutaka Miura
Noriko Maki	...	Fusako Taguchi
Shinichirô Mikami	...	Kazuo
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Shuzo Kawai
Eijirô Tôno	...	Sakuma, The 'Gourd'
Kuniko Miyake	...	Nobuko
Kyôko Kishida	...	'Kaoru' no Madame
Michiyo Kan	...	Tamako, gosai
Ryuji Kita	...	Shin Horie
Toyo Takahashi	...	'Wakamatsu' no Okami
Shinobu Asaji	...	Youko Sasaki, hisho

Also Known As:

An Autumn Afternoon (USA)
The Taste of Saury (Japan) (informal literal English title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (2007) | Finland:S | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Shochiku-Ofuna, Ofuna, Kanagawa, Japan

Company:

Shochiku Company

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Yasujiro Ozu] [Static Camera]There is not a single camera movement in the entire film, as in many Ozu's last films.

Movie Connections:

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

The Ozu that I've heard so much about but couldn't find in his other films

Not that I've seen too many Ozu films. This is only my third, after Bakushu and Tokyo Story. Both of those I found dull, even Tokyo Story, which is often considered one of the best films ever made. I don't know the critical reputation of Autumn Afternoon, but I liked it a lot. In fact, it continues with Ozus favorite themes (which I do sincerely hope aren't the same in all his films, and that I've just accidentally picked similar ones): aging, marriage, and Westernization. Autumn Afternoon is less pushy than those other two films. I thought that Ozu was making a lot of judgements in those films (although others have said that Ozu less judgemental than any other auteur; I don't believe it). In Autumn Afternoon, everything is observed without judgement. It's about life, it's about Japanese culture, and it's about human beings. I won't go into a deep examination of the film. I'd like to praise the musical score specifically, which is very charming and beautiful. Other than that, I'd just like to say that Autumn Afternoon is a delightful and touching film. See it if you're an Ozu fan, see it if you are not one. 9/10.