Sanma no aji (1962)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

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

Chishu Ryu	...	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:

The last film directed by Yasujiro Ozu.

Movie Connections:

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

Ozu's Great Swan Song

This is Ozu's last film, and it is wonderful. At first, I wondered if it could be even good. It has similar themes of other, amazing films like "Late Spring" and "Early Summer", both of which had the truly amazing actress Setsuko Hara, who is not in this film. However, this film is just about as great as them, since it has one of the best acting performances of terrific Ozu regular Chishu Ryu. He plays the father, a widower with three children, two sons and a daughter. It is no surprise to me that the daughter Michiko, played by Shima Iwashita and Akiko the daughter in law, played by Mariko Okada, have had such long, varied careers in cinema. They are great in their roles. There is a certain sass to both of them which really comes across in their characters. They are also both beautiful. The story also has a great sideline, in which Mr. Ryu's old friends help out an teacher, nicknamed "The Gourd". From there, you meet the teacher's daughter Tanako, a familiar face to all Ozu fans. I was deeply affected by Tomako, even though her role is small. I feel her sadness and loneliness. Another great scene is when the father meets up with an old armed services buddy and they go to a local bar and play a war march. They are a bit drunk, and they salute. Playing the barmaid is the great actress Kyoko Kishida, star of the great "Manji" and "Woman In The Dunes". I was deeply interested in the lives of these people, and find the film to be just wonderful, displaying the emotions that a great Ozu film possesses. This film is profoundly moving. I would not start with this film as an introduction to Ozu, only because "Tokyo Story", "Late Spring" and "I Was Born, But" are such masterpieces, but this ranks with them. A deeply profound, excellent epitaph from Yasojiro Ozu, one of the greatest directors ever, from anywhere at any time. See it, you will not be disappointed. Rest in peace, Yasojiro Ozu.