What to expect
Ozu’s first talkie turns a familiar promise, education leading to a better life, into a question neither parent nor child can settle alone.
How to ease in
Hold the mother’s sacrifices and the son’s circumstances in view together. Resist deciding too quickly which of them is being unfair.
For viewers interested in parental sacrifice and the limits of opportunity.
Less suitable for a success story that resolves every sacrifice.
Heads-up
Financial disappointment carries much of the dramatic weight. This is an intimate family story with little interest in triumphant uplift.
Sources for the facts
Where to go next
Momo's Note Who is Momo? →
— COMING SOON —
Why no note yet?
- Hasn't seen it yet.
- Too good for words.
- Too bad for words.