The Only Son

Japan    Yasujiro Ozu

His first talkie (1936) dealt squarely with the theme he returned to with his masterpiece Tokyo Story. A single mother sacrifices everything to provide her smart willful son with an education. Fifteen years later she visits him in Tokyo and learns he is scrabbling along as a teacher with a wife and son and just barely getting by.

She absorbs her dismay and lives with the knowledge that in spite of our best efforts life can be very disappointing. The film contained all his signature touches and worked as well as all the others.

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