An Autumn Afternoon

Shuhei Hirayama, a widower, lives with his unmarried daughter Michiko. He realises that keeping her at home is not care for her but comfort for himself. Seeing his old teacher drinking, he sees his own future: a man who never married his daughter off and was left alone. That is how he decides, and after the wedding he is alone in the house. Yasujiro Ozu directed. Chishu Ryu plays Hirayama. It is Ozu's last film. He died the following year, on his sixtieth birthday. One formal detail marks a break for him: since 1934 Ozu had put his credits over a sackcloth texture, and here, for the first time, painted fronds took its place. It was shot in Agfacolor. The Japanese title refers to sanma, a fish eaten in autumn; that it is seasonal, and suggests transience, matches everything the film is about. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 95 percent from 22 reviews with an 8.8 average. Roger Ebert found in it a profound understanding of human nature. Who it is for: viewers who know Ozu and like quiet films about age and loneliness. Who it is not for: anyone waiting for events. Almost all of it happens in living rooms, bars and offices, and it states nothing directly.