Banshun 1949

Vincent Canby, New York Times: Ozu's characters don't seek ecstasy, not because they are afraid of it but because they are brave enough to accept compromise. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: Yasujiro Ozu's 1949 film inaugurated his majestic late period: it's here that he decisively renounces melodrama (and, indeed, most surface action of any kind) and lets his camera settle into the still, long-take contemplation. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: One of the best two or three films Ozu ever made. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: "Movies resurrect the beautiful dead," Susan Sontag once wrote, and there's no better way to commemorate Hara than to watch her in Late Spring, a film in which she is heartbreakingly vibrant. Read more