Early Summer

Regarded in Japan as one of Ozu's masterworks, Early Summer is another tale of a dutiful daughter, Noriko (again played by Setsuko Hara), the machinations around her marriage and the quiet havoc it wreaks in her family. [17 Apr 2009, p.C4]

Once again, Ozu's script, co-written with constant colleague Kogo Noda, is a marvel of organic detail and deceptive naturalism. Ozu's late style -- the serene, easy flow, the smooth succession of floor-level interior shots, the quietly restrained acting, the mastery of intimate psychology and the subtle portrayal of Japanese society in transition -- are all in place. [24 Mar 1989, p.23]

Ozu plays with the positives and negatives of being married and being single in postwar Japan, at a time when women began to have more agency in their lives. Read full review

Ozu never moves his camera but invariably moves us. [05 Dec 2004, p.13]

The camera is surprisingly mobile at times, but what really impresses is the use of omission and repetition. Read full review