Much to our delight, the British Film Institute have recently re-released, in new digital restorations, Tokyo Story and Late Autumn, two masterpieces from the legendary Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Like much of his work, they both examine the timeless struggles that we all face in life: the cycles of birth and death, the transition from childhood to adulthood, and the tension between tradition and modernity. And Ozu’s particular way of filmmaking (long takes, low camera positions) has certainly never seemed more beautiful.

Made near the end of his life, Late Autumn is one of Ozu's most bittersweet movies, a half-comic drama about parenthood, 'difficult' children, and marriage prospects.

The radiant Setsuko Hara, her sensuality coming into play only in the closing scenes, plays Tokyo widow Akiko, whose grown-up daughter Ayako seems determined to stay single. The film's plot, full of Ozu's characteristic echoes and symmetries, turn on the efforts of various well-meaning friends of the family to get both women married. Three male friends (two businessmen and an academic) first target Ayako, and then her mother; a woman friend of Ayako's initially disapproves of their meddling but later agrees to help them. Ayako gets the wrong idea that her mother plans to remarry, and mother and daughter quarrel. There are further droll misunderstandings, most of them caused by the child-like adult men, who have 'problem' children of their own. Ozu's visual style and patterning was never more playful.