Late Spring (1949)

IMDb plot summary: Several people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.

Directed by Yasujirô Ozu. Starring Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, and Yumeji Tsukioka.

Late Spring is a Japanese movie from the 40s by Yasujiro Ozu about a woman in her 20s who lives alone with her father taking care of him despite the pressure that's placed on her to marry. She is happy with the life that she has but keeps being pressured by everyone around her to do the adult responsible thing and get married, continue on with her life, and leave her father. Tokyo Story is the only other Ozu that I've watched and while it was interesting, it didn't capture my attention. Late Spring absolutely did. I felt myself so connected to this character who was working so hard to not disappoint the people around her but truly did not want to do what they wanted. There's something really heartbreaking about her just not being able to get what she wants. The movie is slow and quiet, and that adds to the sadness of the whole thing. Just like with Tokyo Story, I found a contrast between the cheery smiles these characters would put on and the discontent and the sadness that lay beneath that, and even though this sadness was a fairly mild form, it still felt very real and it felt very difficult and very sad and I really, really loved it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Late Spring > Sarah, Plain and Tall

Late Spring > Safe

Late Spring > The White Tiger

Late Spring > Dead Ringers

Late Spring < Tootsie

Late Spring < Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Late Spring < Seven Samurai

Late Spring < Moxie

Late Spring > Submarine

Late Spring < Bullets Over Broadway

Late Spring < Amahl and the Night Visitors

Late Spring < Everything Everywhere All at Once

Final spot: #237, or 94%.