It’s Ozu’s final film and another near remake of his beloved Late Spring—this time we’re back with Ryu as the father but instead of outside pressure in the form of matchmakers—we have the old school man team “The Gourd” (Eijirô Tôno) as a living parallel for Ryu as he is a drunk, lives alone with his aging daughter—they serve the story of Ryu—it scares him
Ozu’s final film- 6th in a row in color—here and The End of Summer he’s experimenting with wallpaper- I think it’s a sign of things that would’ve come- the wallpaper on the Shoji doors—gorgeous
Ozu died months after his elderly mother passed. Ozu was 60, never married or moved out, a big drinker—it’s hard not to read that into his narratives on marriage, obligations to parents, self-interest vs society pressures- etc.
Oddly enough Ozu changes the opening credit titles for the first time—instead of the cloth we have some graphics here- colored and stylized—adorned
Love the opening- smoke stacks red and white and then the garbage that is oddly colored (though not odd for an Ozu film where everything is meticulously planned out)
Stadium lights for baseball shots are remarkable too—never shows the baseball except on TV but he loves the structures in the air
Heavy heavy drinking in the film—kind of blew me away actually
Multi- colored slippers in the hall
The signage again—barbershop stripes, Suntory whiskey, Sapporo—clearly Ozu loved well-done advertising and fonts
Different color bottles at the bottom of the frame
Heavy yellows and primary—row of seats in yellow, teapot
Great shot of exterior of apartments with everyone’s colorful clothes hanging on the outside
The wallpaper on the doors—stunning
Love the Venetian blinds blocking and framing the mise-en-scene—there’s a montage after the wedding and Ozu goes back to the standing mirror and stool
Understated but devastating ending—Ryu drinks the tea in the 4th room according the depth of field
[…] An Autumn Afternoon – Ozu […]