The Wexford Japanese Film Festival presents An Autumn Afternoon

An Autumn Afternoon                     秋刀魚の味

Dir: Yasujiro Ozu

Starring: Shima Iwashita, Chishu Ryu, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada

Yasujiro Ozu’s final film is one of the great director’s finest works. Revisiting the themes and story of Ozu’s earlier classic Late Spring (1949), An Autumn Afternoon stars his regular collaborator Chishu Ryu as Hirayama – an ageing widower under social pressure to marry off his youngest daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita). Shining a spotlight on changing societal norms and the resulting sidelining of older generations, this is one of Ozu’s most perceptive works. It is both melancholic and humorous, but always with the deep sense of empathy and humanity that ensures the director’s work remains beloved to this day.