An Autumn Afternoon
A widowed Tokyo father quietly arranges his daughter's marriage while confronting the loneliness that her independence will bring.
Overview
A poignant exploration of family ties and the bittersweet nature of letting go.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- contemplative
- wistful
- intimate
- quiet evening
- reflective viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Ozu's final film as a contemplative masterpiece praised for its profound understanding of human nature, emotional restraint, and meditation on loneliness and life's transience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ozu focuses on Hirayama's household, workplace, friendships, and marriage negotiations through quiet everyday interactions.
Hirayama urges Michiko toward marriage while gradually recognizing how her departure will alter his life.
The Tokyo household reflects changing marriage expectations, consumer habits, work life, and postwar Japanese prosperity.
Drinking meetings, school reunions, and family conversations carry warmth while exposing aging, regret, and isolation.
Films like An Autumn Afternoon, and why
Tokyo Story
shared contemplative family drama, restrained emotion, generational change, and quiet loneliness
Late Spring
shared Ozu-style domestic observation, transitional postwar Japan, and bittersweet family relationships
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice
shared measured pacing, understated melancholy, and adult children negotiating parental solitude
Still Walking
shared intimate domestic drama, Japanese social change, and emotional restraint
Movie Details
- Director
- Yasujirō Ozu
- Release Date
- 1962-11-18
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (339)
Cast
- Chishū Ryū
- Shima Iwashita
- Keiji Sada
- Mariko Okada
- Teruo Yoshida
- Noriko Maki
- Shinichirō Mikami
- Nobuo Nakamura
- Eijirō Tōno
- Kuniko Miyake
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is An Autumn Afternoon about?
- A widowed Tokyo father quietly arranges his daughter's marriage while confronting the loneliness that her independence will bring.
- What is An Autumn Afternoon like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of An Autumn Afternoon as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is An Autumn Afternoon violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in An Autumn Afternoon.
- What did critics think of An Autumn Afternoon?
- Critics broadly regard Ozu's final film as a contemplative masterpiece praised for its profound understanding of human nature, emotional restraint, and meditation on loneliness and life's transience.
- Which films are like An Autumn Afternoon?
- Films with a similar feel include Tokyo Story, Late Spring, The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice, and Still Walking.
- How long is An Autumn Afternoon?
- An Autumn Afternoon runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch An Autumn Afternoon?
- In United States, An Autumn Afternoon streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
