A troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of Japan. Komajuro Arashi, the aging master of the troupe, goes to visit his old flame Oyoshi and their son Kiyoshi, even though Kiyoshi believes Komajuro is his uncle. The leading actress Sumiko is jealous and so, in order to humiliate the master, persuades the younger actress Kayo to seduce Kiyoshi.
The sheer beauty of Ozu's exquisite (and typically eccentric) compositions and the expressive use of sound tell all you need know about the characters, their emotions and relationships.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
Ozu is, however, very special in his technique, which by the end of his career, had become very modest, lucid and lovely.
– Roger Greenspun,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
fresh:
Sooner or later, everyone who loves movies comes to Ozu. He is the quietest and gentlest of directors, the most humanistic, the most serene. But the emotions that flow through his films are strong and deep.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
His spare, slow-moving films are not for all tastes, but once the rhythms are accepted, Ozu's work offers a unique emotional experience.