My Sons

Yamada, director of the endless 'Tora-san' series, called this his homage to Ozu, and it's true that the focus on parental expectations and filial obligations is Ozu-esque, as are a few of the images. Grizzled veteran Mikuni plays a cantankerous tobacco farmer from a village in Iwate Prefecture; his wife died a year ago, and he's getting too old to carry on. His two contrasted sons have moved to the outskirts of Tokyo, and the core of the film is the old man's visit to the capital to assess their futures and his own. This is not an example of what's happening in contemporary Japanese cinema, and it has the usual Yamada problem of being all surface and no depths; but it has sincere affection for its characters, and is very well acted and directed. Genuinely touching, its qualities make it Yamada's best film by far.