Late Autumn (film screening)

Late Autumn

秋日和

Thursday November 20, 6:00PM (ET)

Doors open 5:30PM | Film Screening | In-Person | JFT Event Hall

Directed by OZU Yasujirō • 1960 • 128 minutes • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer 

Late Autumn follows the attempts of three older men to help the widow of a late friend, MIWA Akiko (HARA Setsuko), to marry off her daughter Ayako (TSUKAWA Yōko, in her assured first appearance in an Ozu film). Ayako, however, is less than happy at the proposals, mainly because of her reluctance to leave her mother alone. 

A reworking of Ozu’s earlier masterpiece Late Spring (1949), the film reverses the roles, with the Ozu regular HARA Setsuko now portraying the sensitive, caring mother, instead of the devoted daughter she played in the original film. A more comedic entry in Ozu’s oeuvre, Late Autumn satirizes the social rituals and emotional turbulence surrounding marriage and matchmaking, while continuing Ozu’s meditation on the widening generational gap in the post-war Japan. 

Ozu once said about Late Autumn: “People complicate the simplest things. Life, which seems complex, suddenly reveals itself as very simple. I wanted to show that in this film.” Released three years before his death, Late Autumn may be lesser known than his most celebrated works, but it nevertheless is a testament of his unique sensibility and refined artistry.         

If you are interested in more classic Japanese films, don’t miss the NARUSE Mikio retrospective currently touring across Canada, including films starring HARA Setsuko and TSUKAWA Yōko!

Free admission.  Register below.

Director Profile:

OZU Yasujirō (小津 安二郎, 1903-1963) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese filmmakers in the history of cinema, known for his deeply humanistic portrayals of family life and the quiet passage of time. Ozu began his career during the era of silent films. He first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Ozu crafted a distinctive cinematic language characterized by low camera angles (“tatami shot”), static compositions, and meticulous attention to everyday conversations. Marriage and family, generational divides, and the tension between tradition and modernity in post-war Japan are often the prominent themes in his works.

Among his most celebrated works are Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953),  Floating Weeds (1959), and his final film An Autumn Afternoon (1962). Ozu’s restrained storytelling, delicate humor, and compassionate view of ordinary life have made him an enduring icon of world cinema and have continued to influence filmmakers. In the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, Ozu’s Tokyo Story was voted the greatest film of all time by directors around the world.