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In this episode, I explore Yasujiro Ozu’s 1949 classic, “Late Spring.” Setsuko Hara stars as 27-year-old Noriko who feels a strong bond with her widower father and prefers to live with him instead of getting married. Worried that he will doom his daughter to an unfulfilling life, Noriko’s father claims that he intends to re-marry and insists that Noriko have a life of her own with a husband. I talk about Ozu’s life, why his directing style is unique, and why this film moves me so deeply. I focus on the relationship between Noriko and her father, and I question why we prioritize romantic love and often do not acknowledge the power of other kinds of love, like that for our parents or our friends.
Full show notes:
- Paul Schrader’s essay about Ozu on Film Comment
- Senses of Cinema profile of Ozu
- Essay about Ozu on The Japan Times
- Robert Gottlieb’s essay about Setsuko Hara for The New York Review of Books
- More information about the Mammoni men of Italy
- More about Filmstruck
Listen to episodes mentioned:
- The Passion of Joan of Arc
- L’avventura
- La Jetee
- Cleo from 5 to 7
- Pather Panchali
- Apu Trilogy
- The Big City
- Koker Trilogy
- Taste of Cherry
- Close-Up
- Hiroshima Mon Amour
- Dead Poets Society
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