Banshun (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

For those familiar with Tokyo Story, the tone and themes of its precursors Late Spring and Early Summer can easily be seen in retrospect as a run-up to the perennial world critics' favourite. There is such a continuity in setting, cast and even character names that it's tempting to view the three as a trilogy and then wonder why Ozu troubled himself with the facade of different characters at all. The constant figures through all three are Noriko, played by Setsuko Hara as a skittish but devoted daughter or daughter-in-law, and Chishû Ryû's genial father. Late Spring differs from its successors in being wholly centered on these two as the father gently tries to persuade the clingy daughter to leave the nest.

It's certainly true to life and moves with admirable restraint, wringing a wealth of meaning out of the slightest gestures. Sadly for this viewer, no amount of cross-cultural or chronological allowance can overcome the rising irritation with 10 minutes of unsubtitled Noh performance or the increasingly terrifying durability of Hara's winsome smile. Horses for courses, then.

6/10