Yasujiro Ozu’s last film An Autumn Afternoon is a lovely meditation on the dynamics of parents and children, a quiet but nonetheless powerfully emotional piece that should resonate even with viewers who have no children of their own. True to his cinematic style, the movie is artistically very still while possessing depths of feeling that evolve with repeated viewings. What a magnificent way to end one’s career!
Studio: Criterion
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: Japanese 1.0 PCM (Mono)
Subtitles: English
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 1 Hr. 53 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 02/17/2015
MSRP: $39.95
The Production Rating: 4/5
The script by Kogo Noda and director Ozu hits all of the right notes of various parent-children currents and undercurrents, astutely resonating with us all in spite of the Japanese traditions. We see both happy and troubled marriages, squabbles over finances and selfish whims being satisfied, a daily pattern of work, socializing at bars and restaurants, and home life that’s banally repetitive: an easy way for years to pass within the blink of an eye leaving one wondering where time has flown. Ozu makes a point of keeping the women in the story non-subservient; they stand up to husbands and fathers when they make unwise decisions (always with that Japanese decorum that’s a great wonder to behold) and display behavior that always earns our respect and often captures our hearts, especially when their grief or disappointments are internalized until they can express them privately in an outward way. We also see early-on the parallel situations of the two father/daughter scenarios, one tragic and the other pointing in that direction, second-guessing where Ozu might go with them. The formalized Ozu style is, of course, thrust front and center of every shot with a stubbornly immobile camera set at a low level as if to subtly spy on the every motion of the characters we’re examining (or occasionally out of sight of the camera where our imaginations then go to work). The combination of such unmistakable formalism in the forefront while characters struggle with complexly mixed emotions in the back of the frame gives Ozu’s works an utterly unique power, unmatched and always memorable.
Performances are first-rate across the board with special bows of admiration for Chishu Ryu as the conflicted father, Shima Iwashita as his delicate daughter (the shot of her in her wedding ensemble is one of the most breathtaking revelations found in the cinema of its day), Keiji Sada as the spoiled son whose finances can’t match his desires, and Eijiro Tono as the former teacher now reduced to being a noodle shop owner who drowns his disappointments in alcohol while being oblivious to his own daughter’s miserable existence.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 3.5/5
Special Features Rating: 3/5
Yasujiro Ozu and The Taste of Sake (14:40, HD): excerpt from a 1978 French television program on Ozu features critics Michel Ciment and Georges Perec extolling Ozu’s magnificent career which was then only being discovered in France. Subtitles in English are provided.
Theatrical Trailers (2:05, 3:13, HD): two trailers are available for separate viewing.
Enclosed Pamphlet: contains cast and crew lists and a few stills from the film along with a celebration of An Autumn Afternoon by writer Geoff Andrew and a discussion of Ozu’s diaries by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie.
Timeline: can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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