Movie screening: The End of Summer

Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, 1961, 103 min.

The Kohayagawa family, proprietors of a small sake brewery, are struggling to keep their business afloat while their elderly patriarch, Manbei (Ganjiro Nakamura), gads about with a former girlfriend, much to his daughters’ disapproval. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for widowed daughter-in-law Akiko (Setsuko Hara) and the youngest Kohayakawa daughter Noriko (Yoko Tsukasa) to be married off. “The Kohayagawa family is complicated indeed,” muses one of the brewery’s employees, as he attempts to detangle the many origins and back stories of this lively clan.

A domestic comedy/drama that captures an era of rapid change for an extended family, The End of Summer has a bittersweet but optimistic tone, deepened by subtle and affecting performances by a cast of Ozu all-stars (Chishu Ryu even makes an appearance!).