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I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

While having the privileged importance of being great director Yasujiro Ozu's first sound film, The Only Son also remains important for its emergence as the first truly "Ozu" work, in the sense that the very particular cinematic and thematic elements which make up what he is best known for coalesce together in a thoroughly emotional experience.The story is simple enough, as Ozu usually tells. A widow attempts to save enough money for her son to go to college in Tokyo. She visits him years later, only to discover that he is not living the kind of sophisticated, well-off life she believed he would lead as a result of a college degree. What Ozu does with these characters is astonishing; he shows them in the most serene and simple of situations and settings yet uses his unique directing style to elicit subtle feelings and thoughts simmering just below the surface. What this seems to suggest is Ozu's feelings regarding Japan in the 1930s, a tumultuous period in which the age of modernization seemed to be waning and Japanese society continued to be pressured into a militaristic hegemony. Clearly, Ozu resisted these transitions and his best offense was the films he made. The result is a quiet, gentle yet intense story about simple people wishing their lives, or the lives of their children, were better than they are. Through this, Ozu seems to reflect on the failure of Japanese innovation up to that point and the uncertainty of what the future might bring. Fortunately for the viewer, his specific style and insight remain as coherent and profound as ever.

This film opens in 1923 with factory worker Tsune Nonomiya being persuaded to send her only son to secondary school so he can become a 'great man'; something that wasn't free in those days. The years pass and in 1935 she sets off to see her son in Tokyo; things haven't turned out how she expected; far from being a great man he is a night school teacher earning just enough to support his wife and child. He borrows money so he can afford to show his mother the sights of Tokyo but she soon learns the truth. This obviously hurts her as she had to sell everything of value she owned including her house to pay for his education and she feels he should be more ambitious. When a neighbour's son is injured he helps out and she tells him she is proud of him; however when she returns home it is clear that she is still upset despite what she says to her friends.It must be said that not much happens here; even the accident where the child is hurt happens off screen; this isn't a bad thing though. It is very much a 'slice of life' story where we see the mother's trip to Tokyo as she learns what has become of her son. It is clear that he wants to make more of his life but the situation there isn't great… his old teacher is now scraping a living as a pork cutlet seller. One of the most obvious things about the film was clearly not intended by the creators; it shows a Japan before the war where people live in traditional homes and women wear traditional clothing; much of which would be lost a few years later. The film does show its age somewhat but is still well worth watching as it is more than a historical curiosity. Until now the only Japanese entertainment I'd seen was anime and modern films but on the strength of this I'd be interested in seeing more older films.

It is a shame that this film is not available for wider viewing. I had the opportunity of seeing it at an Ozu retrospective in Cleveland. This film measures up to the other great classic Ozu films. The impact of Ozu's films works in much the same way as Japanese painting. There is great power in its open spaces and silences. They lend greater power to the words and emotions that are expressed. The dignity of the characters as they struggle with life is moving. Ozu is a masterof world cinema because he deals with themes of universal import and he does so with impeccable style. Especially noteworthy in this film is his effective use of music and sound. All in all, a very worthwhile experience

"The Only Son" is Ozu's first "talkie" - and utilizes sounds/dialogue in a stylistic manner to tell a simple story. The beautiful simplicity that pervades the piece is classical Ozu, and amplifies the poignant tale of a mother coming back to visit her son, after sacrificing her livelihood to ensure he achieves higher education. When she realizes that he is unsatisfied with his life as a night-school teacher, a general melancholic tone begins to unfold through the progression of the narrative. There are some fine indoor shots of the house where the son lives, and also, some greatly composed scenes of the run-down industrial neighborhood where the son goes out to buy "noodles" from a nearby stand. What's also memorable about the film is its excellent rendition of outdoor nature shots, one scene stands out in my mind where the son is having a discussion with his mother. There is also a great shot of the night-school teacher looking out dismal and lonely from the school-building to a city sign, which is juxtaposed against a dark, night sky.The ending is nicely done, and overall, the film is crafted in that spare, simple perfection that is the stylistic hallmark of Ozu's cinema.