It’s been awhile since I posted any sort of art or film recommendations, so here we go. About a week ago, I watched “The Only Son,” link below, and it was so good, I thought I’d pontificate on this fine flick with a recommendation. For those who might not be familiar, Yasujiro Ozu is one of Japan’s greatest directors, and for many, one of the greatest directors of all time. My son and I are cinephiles, of a sort, but I didn’t introduce him to Ozu; we both discovered the director at a showing of “Tokyo Story” at the Belcourt in Nashville, a film that is often ranked among, again, the greatest of all time.
Ozu’s films are beautiful, still, simple yet complex, dealing with family dynamics between parents and children, siblings, old and new, modernity versus tradition, but in a completely universal and engaging fashion. So, for my birthday my son got me a set of “The Only Son” and “There Was a Father,” neither of which I’d seen. As I watched it, I thought of him, of course, and my parents and their parents before them and what it means to really say you are proud of someone, which is a key part of the film. You can’t go wrong with any Ozu flick, really, they are all great, but this one is certainly one of his best.
Roger Ebert wrote: “I really do feel as if Ozu is looking at his films along with me. He isn’t throwing them up on the screen for me to see by myself. Together we look at people trying to please, and often failing, and sometimes redeeming.”
The Letterboxd review below is really good, as well. Enjoy!
Doug Hoekstra 