Late Autumn (1960)

 Yasujiro Ozu's "Late Autumn"

It's safe to say that Yasujiro Ozu is one of the finest artists to ever make films. Because for a film like "Late Autumn" to be as good as it is and not getting near the greatness of his other works is really saying something about Ozu's mastery. While Ozu often makes films of a similar ilk, style, and cadence, there is always such new life in each one. "Late Autumn" is no different.

The film centers on three older men trying to help the widow of their late friend by marrying off her daughter. While the daughter is adamant that she does not want to marry, the friends believe that marrying off her mother will make the daughter feel better about leaving her. However, the situation gets complicated, as the mother and daughter begin to form a misunderstanding.

One of the things that really stands out in the film are the discussions of love and marriage - and how those two things are not mutually exclusive. Typical discussions of marriage in the film are between characters with no tangible 'love' between them, making it ironic that, despite this, there is so much love between everyone in the film. I typically come away from an Ozu film feeling emotionally or existentially melancholic. However, there is a certain palpable layer of affection and love between everyone and, because of this, the natural melancholy is made more sweet.

To me, this makes "Late Autumn" a nice little gem in the Ozu filmography. While it isn't one of Ozu's most notable works, it still is worthy of viewing and a great film in its own right. Like I said, because Ozu is so prolific, it's easy for such a great work to get lost in the bunch.