Chisu Ryu is the beautiful centre of this film, playing a lovely man who despite having no wife wants his daughter to get married. His smile is everything. And this bounces off everything else - a friend who has married a much younger woman, a former teacher who has a bitter grown up daughter living with him, a secretary who is just married, a son with a strong-willed wife. So it's about everything - families, relationships, the past... and golf clubs.
It's immediately recognisable as an Ozu film by the low camera - though there's perhaps a reason for that - unless in the office or in a bar, everyone is on the floor. What amazes me is the men all sit cross legged, but the women more formally kneel - and then when they get up, they just propel themselves up so gracefully - I started wondering if I could do it (I couldn't. Couldn't get anywhere near it.)
And the empty spaces. Ozu shoots very formally, the camera never moves; but the characters behave formally too - there's no hugs, kisses or embraces.
The actual title translation is 'The Taste of Sanma' which is mackerel pike, 'an unrefined fish popularly enjoyed by ordinary folk... The Chinese character for Autumn is one of the three characters which make up the word 'sanma'.' (Kiyoko Hirano, BFI booklet).
By the way, Japan in colour in 1962 - gorgeous but somehow sterile urban landscapes, buildings, neon signs - the American influence. Contrasted with very traditional dwellings.
Not without humour also - the drunkenness of the old teacher, the friends who wind each other up. (There's a lot of drinking and eating going on.) The man who has served under him in the war, the bar they go to - and when he goes there again, it's so not the same experience.
It's ultimately really sad. But what we've seen in such simple scenes is real, human life.
The daughter is Shima Iwashita. All acting fabulous. Cinematography Yuharu Atsuta, music Takanobu Saito.
A polite film of much subtlety. Ozu's last.
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