Master Rank #360

Late Spring

1949

GCML Total8.6840% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Yasujirō Ozu

CastChishū Ryū · Setsuko Hara

JapanJapaneseDrama108 minNot Rated
Sight & SoundNarrative FeatureDeliberate pace
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

In the post-WWII Japan, the twenty-seven year-old Noriko Somiya lives a simple but happy life with her fifty-seven year-old widower father.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Twenty-seven-year-old Noriko lives contentedly in Kamakura with widowed father Shukichi, managing their home and resisting marriage. Relatives and friends press Shukichi to arrange a match, forcing both father and daughter to confront their dependence and social expectation.

Why it belongs

Through low camera placement, domestic routine, offscreen ellipsis, and Hara and Ryū's exquisitely restrained affection, Late Spring makes family change profound.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Tatami-level rooms, bicycles, tea, Noh theater, empty interiors, and seasonal objects give ordinary time weight—Setsuko Hara's radiant smile and Chishū Ryū's quiet pauses carry feelings their characters protect each other from naming.

Major award wins

No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.

Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

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