The Only Son (1936 film)
| The Only Son | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Produced by | Den Takayama |
| Written by | Yasujirō Ozu (as James Maki) (story) Tadao Ikeda Masao Arata (screenplay) |
| Starring |
Chōko Iida Shin'ichi Himori Chishū Ryū |
| Music by | Senji Itō |
| Cinematography | Shōjirō Sugimoto |
| Distributed by | Shōchiku |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Only Son (一人息子 Hitori musuko?) is a 1936 film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Chōko Iida and Shin'ichi Himori. The film was Ozu's first "talkie" (sound film) feature.
The film starts in the rural town of Shinshū in 1923. A widow, Tsune (O-Tsune) Nonomiya (Chōko Iida), works hard at a silk production factory to provide for her only son, Ryōsuke. When Ryōsuke's teacher Ōkubo (Chishū Ryū) persuades her to let her son continue to study beyond elementary school, she decides to support her son's education even until college. Her son promises to become a great man.
Thirteen years later, in 1936, O-Tsune, now in her sixties, visits Ryōsuke (Shin'ichi Himori), who is twenty-eight, in Tokyo. She learns that her son, now a night school teacher, has married and even has a one-year-old son. Her daughter-in-law Sugiko is nice and obliging, but Ryōsuke's job does not pay much. Ryosuke and O-Tsune visit Ōkubo, who is now a father of four and running a tonkatsu restaurant.
The couple keeps the mother entertained but their money is running out. On a trip to an industrial district one day, Ryōsuke confides in the mother that he wishes he had never come to Tokyo, and that he is a disappointment to his mother. He later states that Tokyo is not a place where one can succeed easily. O-Tsune chides her son for giving up, telling him she has nothing now left, neither land nor house, and she only wants him to succeed.
Sugiko sells her kimono and raises enough money for the whole family to go out to enjoy themselves. However Tomibo (Tomio Aoki), a neighbor's son, gets injured by a horse and Ryōsuke rushes him to the hospital. There he gives their money to Tomibo's mother for her to foot the hospital bill. O-Tsune sees all this, and later tells Ryōsuke he has done her proud for his selfless act.
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