Ozu Ojiro’s lyrical film The Only Son, unfolding in 1923, 1935 and 1936, depicts the contrast between rural and urban Japanese life. An ironic view of failed ambition, the film focuses on the relationship between a rural widowed mother who labored to get her son an education and the son, now barely surviving in Tokyo, heretofore viewed as a beacon of opportunity for newcomers.
The Only Son
Jul 16, 2012
A truly poignant film – and an insight into one of the reasons that some small countries invaded their neighbors.