An Autumn Afternoon

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Audience Member Masterpiece! Ozu cannot be stopped! One of the best of the best! I believe his last movie was one of his best! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/11/24 Full Review daniel k Paul Rudd was not in this movie Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Although not his best known work, Ozu's "An Autumn Afternoon" is undoubtedly my personal favorite. In Ozu's characteristically quiet and leisurely way, the film offers a panorama of post-war Japanese life that is stunningly inclusive of both the uniquely cultural struggles inherent in that particular time and place as well as the universal pains, burdens and disappointments of daily life that remain relevant to this day. Yet despite the inherent sadness at its core, the sheer, unadorned honesty of the work yields numerous moments that evoke refreshing smiles of recognition as well as outright laughter from the engaged viewer. Underlying it all, the wistful recurrent melody of the film's score generates a stoic acceptance of life's struggles that amounts to a form of necessary resilience in the face of personal upheaval. The film evokes nothing less than a portrait of life that cuts to the core of our innermost afflictions, acknowledging in the process the sobering reality of our inherent isolation from one another. I find myself returning to "An Autumn Afternoon" when in need of a friend who identifies with my pains, and am always enriched by Ozu's heartfelt testament that my own pain is nothing less than the pain of the human condition. This is not a film to deaden the soul with heavy themes of existential distress, but to lighten it with its compassionate empathy for everyone across all walks of life. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review kyle e I have seen many visually beautiful and emotionally moving films, but not as many recently. An Autumn Afternoon is one of those primary examples. Meditative in its pacing it is, but it is never dull. How everything is made and written really makes an interesting and very rewarding experience indeed. It is incredibly well made to start off with, the camera is kept at low angles and is still, but for me this allowed me to explore and really admire the scenery and the framing which are very elegantly done. Kojan Siato's score is one of those soothing and unobtrusive scores that helps the audience to connect with An Autumn Afternoon's gentle mood. How An Autum Afternoon is written is also exceptional, as well as the gentle tone, the story has this great warmth, wisdom and humanity. As well as Ozu's meticulous as ever direction what is also great about An Autumn Afternoon is the lead performance, Chishu Ryu's performance is dignified and altogether very touching. In conclusion, not just one of the cinema's greatest swan-song but a masterpiece of a film also. 10/10 Bethany Cox Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review dave s Yasujiro Ozu's final film, An Autumn Afternoon, tells the story of Shuhei Hirayama and his relationships with his three children. Like most of Ozu's films, it's the story of how we manage to function within these relationships and our impact on those within our circle of family and friends. Presented in Ozu's unique style (stationary camera shooting the action from low angles with no zooms, pans, tracking shots, etc), the story meanders a bit in the early going but the payoff at the end is worth the journey. While An Autumn Afternoon may not be on par with some of his earlier efforts, pretty much any film by Ozu is worth watching. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review William L Ozu's got me tearing up on a Wednesday evening. For a film so slowly paced and devoid of excitement, An Autumn Afternoon hits you hard. Ozu has always presented an incredibly resonant and empathetic depiction of life - as an assembly of quiet moments. Because, at the end of the day, that is what life is; it's not an endless stream of triumphant successes, emotional breakthroughs, or terrible crises, but an inevitable, relentless march through what is often considered tedium. Characters walk the line between dedication to traditionalism as a result of their own upbringing, or modernity with the changes they note in the world around them, but these conflicts are not characterized by violent shouting matches or grand gestures, but by ordinary conversations that are imbued with a sense of awkwardness and a lack of confidence. Underneath it all is this intense humanism, as Ryū's Shūhei, in consideration of his daughter's well-being, the expectations of society, and the suggestions of others, finds himself still devastated by the departure of his daughter, in a moment of unusually sharp emotion for a director that built much of his films on muted characterizations - seeing that final shot in proper context, as the last of Ozu's career, just makes it more heartbreaking, as if all of his subdued moments were leading up to this one moment of unvarnished feeling. What a film. What a way to end a career. (4.5/5) Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/17/21 Full Review Read all reviews

An Autumn Afternoon

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