Sanma no aji [An Autumn Afternoon] (1962)

(On Cable TV, May 2022) This review of writer-director Yasujirō Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon can probably be cut and pasted for reuse in discussing most of his work – here’s a filmmaker observing Japan in a sensitive and humane way, cleanly portraying small-scale domestic dramas, often in very specific terms that illuminate his culture for non-Japanese viewers. And… it usually puts me to sleep. That’s integral to the charm of his films, I suppose: their refusal to escalate their drama in extreme or genre-friendly way is the point. Otherwise, their portrayal of characters would be detached from the reality they’re portraying. An Autumn Afternoon, revolving around the responsibilities of an elderly man having to find husbands for his daughters and (more crucially) letting them go on their own, is not about big drama: it’s about the natural passage of life stages, and there’s a lot to commend in the result. The flip side, though, is that you have to be ready for such films – even at a reasonably spry 113 minutes, this is not a film designed to jolt you awake every few moments, and there’s an implicit barrier in trying to understand Japanese social structures from the glimpses provided by the film. If you’re the more impatient viewer, reading a plot summary may help the experience: no, you won’t lose much by having the plot spoiled for you when the plot is about the least interesting thing about the result. Brief yourself thoroughly on what’s going to happen, then spend your time appreciating the nuances. And don’t feel too guilty if, in the end, you conclude it’s not your kind of movie.