Episode 63: Yasujiro Ozu's 'Late Spring' (1949)

In this episode, I explore Yasujiro Ozu's 1949 classic, "Late Spring." Setsuko Hara stars as 27-year-old Noriko who feels a strong bond with her widower father and prefers to live with him instead of getting married. Worried that he will doom his daughter to an unfulfilling life, Noriko's father claims that he intends to re-marry and insists that Noriko have a life of her own with a husband. I talk about Ozu's life, why his directing style is unique, and why this film moves me so deeply. I focus on the relationship between Noriko and her father, and I question why we prioritize romantic love and often do not acknowledge the power of other kinds of love, like that for our parents or our friends.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full show notes:

Paul Schrader's essay about Ozu on Film Comment
Senses of Cinema profile of Ozu
Essay about Ozu on The Japan Times
Robert Gottlieb's essay about Setsuko Hara for The New York Review of Books
More information about the Mammoni men of Italy
More about Filmstruck

Listen to episodes mentioned:

The Passion of Joan of Arc
L'avventura
La Jetee
Cleo from 5 to 7
Pather Panchali
Apu Trilogy
The Big City
Koker Trilogy
Taste of Cherry
Close-Up
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Dead Poets Society