I just saw Late Autumn which I liked a lot. Here the focus is again on the shifting tides of a quickly Westernising Japanese culture, and Ozu looks at the way Japan disenfranchises itself in the generational shift, which specific attention given to women as the rope in a figurative cultural tug-of-war. The symbols of the patriarchy are even more concrete than they have been in any other 50s Ozu - the trio of Mamiya, Hirayama and Taguchi is comical but at the same time creepy and unsettling: the offhand contempt with which Mamiya and especially Taguchi treat their wives, or the way they prioritise the marriage of their war widow friend's daughter (of course, seeing as they had idealised the mother as their own wartime Amaterasu) over the well-being of their own families. Miyami's meeting with Ayako in the coffee shop comes off like an interrogation; their bookending scenes at the inn play like watching a coven in their lair: they come off as a paternal oligarchy struggling to control a Japan that is rapidly slipping away from them with its embrace of modern values and sexual politics (witness them at a loss when faced with Yuriko, the 'new woman' of 1960s Japan!). And once again the ending is a shock - not as 'final' or mournful as An Autumn Afternoon's, but it leaves us hanging with the knowledge that our female protagonists - our stand-ins for the women of Japan - have accepted, to some extent, a reassimilation into the old, patriarchal value structure. But are the consequences of this apparent to them - to what degree were they coaxed into it and to what degree was this a matter of convenience for them? And will they find a way to transform ancient and quickly outdating institutions such as omiai and the traditional Japanese marriage into ones that offer them more agency? After all, even if Miyami takes the credit, Ayako started her courtship with Goto on her own - and, as Yuriko says, she didn't like her hair done up in the customary wedding style!

Setsuko Hara is marvelous in this. After building up her persona with Late Spring and Early Summer every one of her performances for Ozu after those films have progressed a careful deconstruction of it. The joy (and the pain) in watching her in these later films is in seeing the slight changes in expression that turn her famous smile into a grimace. She's tremendously moving.

I don't see how the female protagonists here have accepted "a reassimilation into the old, patriarchal value structure". Quite the contrary.

A very funny movie, all in all, despite the genuine feeling pathos of the end -- unlike Autumn Afternoon, the (at least temporarily) sad parent is not maudlin and intoxicated.

Well, I guess they haven't actually submitted to that structure - but the patriarchy (represented by Miyami, Taguchi and Hirayama) seems to believe that they have, which is what I think Ozu thinks is the point.

I agree about the bawdy humour - I think it functions as an illuminating device for some rather bitter societal observation, but it has a looseness that recalls Early Summer. I want to see Equinox Flower, now - how disappointing that Ozu made so few films in colour, as some of the ones he did approach absolute perfection.

I see the failure of patriarchal authority (not merely its waning) as a predominant theme in Ozu's films from Tokyo Twilight onwards. When his non-comic handling of this theme in Tokyo Twilight met utter rejection by public and critics alike, he did not abandon this issue. Rather he returned to it -- but presented it in a more humorous fashion (with a little pathos blended in). I don't think one finds "bitterness" in any of the post-TT films (even in the most biting of all -- End of Summer). I would say that the social jabs are sharp, but made in a spirit of hope that people might recognize (ruefully) their defects if shown in a more light-hearted fashion.

All the color Ozu films look splendid -- except when mis-transferred (as has been all too often by some Western DVD companies).

I think it's been established that we see these films differently! ;P I find Ozu's later films all have a cynical edge.

The colours are so lush - I don't know of any other director who took to colour with such grace and enthusiasm.

Sorry -- "cynical" might apply (to some extent) to something like Early Spring, but I just can't see it applying to Ozu's last films at all. From the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary --

Definition of CYNICAL

1: captious, peevish

2: having or showing the attitude or temper of a cynic: as

a: contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives <those cynical men who say that democracy cannot be honest and efficient — F. D. Roosevelt>

b: based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest <a cynical ploy to win votes>

I see Ozu's attitude as people are imperfect -- and should recognize their imperfections -- but that these imperfections were no reason to give up on humanity.

A Hen in the Wind is a bit more ‘direct’ in its focus and presentation than some later Ozu (in which his willingness to tackle multiple facets of the same central issue fascinates me a bit more) but it is very interesting to see him explore a very Naruse milieu for once - a slum, essentially. This has an immediate, violent physicality that is usually mediated in Ozu - this makes moments such as Tanaka’s climactic tumble outstanding in the wider context of Ozu’s filmography but perhaps less effective in-film than, say, the slaps in The Munekata Sisters or Floating Weeds. Also interesting to see him make such a potent anti-war statement so soon after - from Late Spring on these statements were rarefied and symbolised. Here the war has destroyed an economy and trapped women in a defeating double-standard that demands they fill the ‘man’s role’ while he’s in service but punishes them for trying to do so. The rift it has created within the ‘services generation’ creates a backdrop of desperation, neglect and disenfranchisement against which the post-war generation begin their lives. In every scene the young son confronts a possible spoiling of innocence, until Ozu appears to concede that innocence is something these kids will just have to grow up without. This is perhaps best expressed in one image that shocked me with its out-of-nowhere symbolic heft: the parents’ post-argument embrace, half-obscured by a doorway, punctuated by the slow, unexplained descent of a paper balloon. 15 years earlier, Ozu asked: “Where now are the dreams of youth?” - these are they.

Hen in the Wind is a remarkable film (even if, perhaps, a bit flawed -- in relatively minor ways). Nothing else quite like it in the Ozu catalog. ;~} However, it does fall into the same general set which also includes Tenement Gentleman, Early Spring and Tokyo Twilight. All deal more explicitly with social problems -- and (mostly, except maybe for Early Spring) met with contemporary rejection.

In honor of Donald Richie and the 50th Anniversary of Ozu's death, 3 weeks of Ozu this June at Film Forum. All films shown will be in 35MM prints (except Kagamijishi, being shown in 16MM).

What Ozus on that calendar would the experts here most recommend? Mainly, what's best with an audience, what's best on a print, and/or what can't one see on DVD? My Ozu experience is basically limited to Tokyo Story and some of his comic silents, all of which I've enjoyed.

Definitely try to catch Record of a Tenement Gentleman, one of the few that the BFI haven't gotten around to yet.

I definitely second that. I saw it in a theater here a couple of years ago and it still remains as one of my absolute favorite Ozu films.

Thirded, and I was also surprised by Hen in the Wind but for theater I would most want to see his later color ones, Autumn Afternoon, End of Summer, and Late Autumn are my favorites of that era

They're all great. ;~}

Do think about things like Walk Cheerfully and Tokyo Inn -- as well as (so-called) Tenement Gentleman.

I wouldn't recommend Munekata Sisters and Toda Family to anyone but completists (addendum: like me).

For the record I would second the last line in Michaels post above. They're not bad films by any means, but they're not the endlessly rewatchable treasure troves that we tend to think of when it comes to Ozu classics and less seen gems.

Carlotta have announced a theatrical release of The Only Son (restored). as well as the restored Tokyo Story.
Has there been similar work done on Son does anyone know ?

Well, I haven't heard anything in particular about any large-scale restoration work on Only Son. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened, of course.

Can anyone comment on the new Blu of Tokyo Story being issued in Japan on July 6? I note that it has English subtitles (probably only for the feature), and that it is supposed to commerate the 110th year of Ozu's birth. I'm guessing this has been transfered from the new restoration?

Not much, but some discussion can be found in this thread.