This is another interesting film from the Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu. While he was extremely masterful at telling stories about ordinary people--often in a conflict between the modern and traditional worlds. Many consider him to be an extraordinary genius, though I also felt that perhaps he was locked into an inflexible pattern that persisted through his film. The Ozu style meant a camera that did not budge and was usually set near floor level. This means that when the characters moved, the camera cut to a new frame--it did not follow them. And, the stories, though marvelous, were very, very similar. In fact, I would say that Ozu's films are the most consistent in theme and style of any director I can think of--and I've reviewed a ton of films. Because of this, the movies often tend to blend together in your mind. In light of all this, I liked "The Only Son" because it was a bit different. While its style and camera-work were pure Ozu, the story was a bit different. Most of his stories seemed to either be about the elderly and alienation or about marriage, this one is a bit different--though it's still a very personal story of ordinary folks.
The film begins in rural Japan. A young boy desperately wants to continue his education beyond primary school, but his mother is a poor widow. Yet, she is determined to work her butt off and send him to a good school in Tokyo--thereby guarateeing him a great future.
Years pass. The boy is now a man with a wife and baby. He is a school teacher and is quite embarrassed when his mother comes to the big city to see him after many years. Why is he embarrassed? He thinks that his job as a teacher is lowly and he should have achieved more with his life. Whether or not his mother agrees with this is never 100% certain--but what eventually does become certain is that she does not respect him because he sees himself as a failure and is too accepting of this. What happens next provides a nice look into what it really means to be a success.
Overall, an exceptionally good Ozu film. It's a bit different in tone than his later films of the 50s and early 60s and makes for nice viewing--even if you feel you've seen too many similar Ozu films. Well worth seeing--with the typical fine acting and direction you'd expect. The only serious negative, and you cannot blame the filmmakers for this, is that the print is pretty bad starting about one hour into the movie.
The film begins in rural Japan. A young boy desperately wants to continue his education beyond primary school, but his mother is a poor widow. Yet, she is determined to work her butt off and send him to a good school in Tokyo--thereby guarateeing him a great future.
Years pass. The boy is now a man with a wife and baby. He is a school teacher and is quite embarrassed when his mother comes to the big city to see him after many years. Why is he embarrassed? He thinks that his job as a teacher is lowly and he should have achieved more with his life. Whether or not his mother agrees with this is never 100% certain--but what eventually does become certain is that she does not respect him because he sees himself as a failure and is too accepting of this. What happens next provides a nice look into what it really means to be a success.
Overall, an exceptionally good Ozu film. It's a bit different in tone than his later films of the 50s and early 60s and makes for nice viewing--even if you feel you've seen too many similar Ozu films. Well worth seeing--with the typical fine acting and direction you'd expect. The only serious negative, and you cannot blame the filmmakers for this, is that the print is pretty bad starting about one hour into the movie.