This was the last film made by Yasujirō Ozu as he died about a year after its release. All of the director’s usual themes are present but with an expanded cast of characters, the focus feels a little diffuse. I do like it a lot though as there are all of the little stories for the characters and it makes for a more comprehensive picture of Japanese social mores. Setsuko Hara doesn’t appear in this one so this is more strongly a film about Chishū Ryū’s character and his relationships.

Widower Shūhei Hirayama lives with two adult children including daughter Michiko who takes care of the household. Another son Kōichi is married and has moved out. He regularly meets with his old friends from school and one of them presses him on ensuring that Michiko gets married before she gets too old. Hirayama is dismissive but then they have a reunion that includes one of theirs teachers, nicknamed the Gourd. They learn that life has been tough for their teacher after the end of the war and he now runs a noodle restaurant. What he regrets most of all however is keeping his own daughter with him for too long and now that she is herself is middle-aged, can no longer get married. This makes him more anxious about Michiko and he starts being more serious about finding a good match for her, hoping that it’s not too late.

Getting the daughter of the family married with all of the attendant mixed feelings is a recurring plot point in Ozu’s films and I don’t feel that this film adds any more to the subject that hasn’t already been said. But I do love how it takes a broader view and places Michiko’s marriage within the context of other things also going on. There’s Kōichi and his assertive, outspoken wife Akiko for example and their squabbles over money being tight. Hirayama asks Kōichi if Akiko is pregnant yet and he replies that they are too worried about money to try for a child, indicating that matchmaking for Michiko is just one of many concerns in the family. Another subplot is Hirayama’s friend Horie who was a widower like himself but has recently remarried to a much younger wife. This makes Horie the butt of many jokes among the friends but also leads Hirayama to reconsider his own life after Michiko leaves the household, especially when he meets a woman working in a bar who reminds him of his own departed wife. There’s a pleasing harmony and sense of completeness in these multiple narratives that makes the film very satisfying to watch.

One element that is new is the long shadow cast by the Second World War. Many of the characters here are widowers and it is implied that their wives died in the war. In a bar, Hirayama runs into a man who served as a member of his crew on a ship, revealing that he himself was a Navy captain. The man enthusiastically hums along and marches to a patriotic military song and Hirayama plays along. But when he reminiscences about how life would be different if Japan had won the war, Hirayama remarks that even though the defeat made life tough for everyone, it is better than Japan lost the war. It’s subtle and delicate take on the topic and by the same token, I’m guessing that the difficulty of finding suitable matches for marriage is also due to how many men Japan has lost to the war. It’s another indication of carefully thought out this film is and even as Ozu’s films are seen as representing the quintessential nature of Japanese nature, they are also set within a very particular time and context.

As with the director’s other works, this is rightfully regarded as a masterpiece. It’s also so pleasant and easy to watch that it should be accessible to everyone. I do note that it is perhaps a little less emotionally intense that some of the other films and there is a good reason why Setsuko Hara makes for a more appealing protagonist. If you must watch only one of Ozu’s films, this is probably not your first choice but it makes for a worthy addition to his oeuvre.