Achieving a unanimous vote on movies is no ordinary feat, and yet, Yasujirô Ozu managed this rare accomplishment not only but multiple times over the course of his career. The legendary Japanese filmmaker is known for creating intimate portraits of familial life in a manner so authentic and poignant that not a single Rotten Tomatoes critic could find fault in his delicate cinematic brush strokes.
Ozu started his directorial journey during the silent film era and established himself as a master of the mundane. He would often focus his lens on quiet dramas and mundane routines within a domestic setting. He worked consistently for over three decades, writing and directing over 50 movies doused in Japanese culture and tradition, norms and change, passage of time and shifts in society.
The more relationships and generational themes he explored, the more his audience related to his works. Also, the balance between nostalgia and modernity was frequently discussed in his movies. The pacing, the precision of camera placements, and the fabrication of ambiguous characters longing for freedom and self-discovery, all led 11 of Yasujirô Ozu’s movies to obtain the coveted 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Two others from his early silent period, namely The Lady and the Beard and Walk Cheerfully, hold a 100% Audience Score. Here are all of those movies, in order of release.
11 I Was Born, But... (1932)
I Was Born, But… is a black-and-white silent comedy penned and directed by Yasujirô Ozu. It follows two young brothers, Keiji and Ryoichi, who move to the Tokyo suburbs with their family. Initially, the boys stay away from the school because of the neighborhood bullies, but they cave in and soon rise to the top of the local gang hierarchy. Their world is turned upside down when Keiji and Ryoichi witness their father, whom they idolize, humiliate himself in front of his boss.
Explores Childhood Innocence
The movie is a poignant tale of childhood disillusionment, one that shatters the boys’ perception of a person they thought was strong and important. Ozu’s delicate direction brings out the humor and pathos of the complexities of family dynamics and expectations of society. The expressive performances, particularly from young actors Tomio Aoki and Hideo Sugawara, make the journey from innocence to maturity both touching and profound.
10 A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
Another award-winning silent drama, A Story of Floating Weeds, centers on Kihachi Ichikawa, a popular actor and leader of a traveling kabuki troupe, who returns to a seaside town where his former love and their illegitimate son, Shinkichi, live. Believing Kihachi to be his uncle, Shinkichi develops a true relationship with him. But this infuriates Otaka, Kihachi’s current mistress, who tries to ruin their life but her plan backfires and it all leads to a series of emotional confrontations.
A Masterpiece of Complex Emotions
Ozu crafts a beautiful and authentic narrative about love, jealousy, and duty. Scenes of daily life and traveling, the silent nature of the conversations, and the subtleties in the interactions spoke volumes and enhanced the emotional depth of the story. Powerhouse performances from Takeshi Sakamoto and Chōko Iida paired with the rich cinematography creates an immersive viewing experience. Moreover, the bittersweet simplicity of the ending justifies its 100% rating.
9 There Was a Father (1942)
Yasujirō Ozu has a penchant for capturing the most tender and relatable human stories. There Was a Father is one such movie. It revolves around Shuhei Horikawa, a widowed schoolteacher, and his son, Ryohei. After a tragic incident with one of the students at school, Shuhei resigns and moves to Tokyo, leaving Ryohei in a boarding school. Years later, when the son becomes an educator himself, Shuhei falls ill and Ryohei returns to take care of him. A heartfelt reunion and self-reflections follow.
A Poignant Tribute to Growing Up
Filmed with extreme care to encapsulate the decades that bind a father and son together, There Was a Father is marked by its understated elegance and emotional palpability. Chishū Ryū’s turn as the main character is particularly worth praising. He is quiet, dignified, strong, and dedicated to instilling values into his son, despite being a single father. The movie explores the relationship between a child and their parents through simple moments, which is what makes it so effective as to earn a perfect score.
8 Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
Record of a Tenement Gentleman was Ozu’s first movie after the Second World War, and naturally, it encompasses a tale surrounding the tragic time. Unfolding against the backdrop of post-war Tokyo, the movie follows a young boy named Kōhei, who is abandoned by his father and taken in by a reluctant widow, O-tane. The narrative captures their evolving relationship, O-tane’s journey from being dismissive and indifferent towards Kōhei to softening to his affection, and the struggles within the community.
When Unexpected Bonds Are Formed
Put to screen shortly after the war, Record of a Tenement Gentleman captures the bleak environment and changing times with realistic grace and its 100% Rotten Tomatoes score is testament to its perfection. Critics noted that Ozu’s direction “deflects the sentimental thrust of the material by taking it all in through his passive, profoundly accepting point of view.” What’s also spectacular is Chōko Iida’s performance as O-tane, a woman hardened by life but learning to rediscover her capacity for love.
7 Late Spring (1949)
Co-written by Ozu with Kogo Noda, famous for collaborating with the director on several of his scripts, Late Spring is adapted from a short piece of fiction written by novelist and critic Kazuo Hirotsu. Setsuko Hara, also a frequent collaborator, plays Noriko, a 27-year-old woman who lives with her widowed father, Professor Shukichi Somiya. Noriko is satisfied with caring for her father and the household, but when Shukichi gives in to societal pressure and arranges her marriage, she is forced to prepare herself for a bittersweet separation.
Japanese Cinema’s Most Heartbreaking Father-Daughter Story
In simple moments, Yasujirō Ozu found great truths. A masterclass in understated storytelling, Late Spring is one of the few movies that captures generational conflict and the tension between personal desires and societal expectations in a way that’s piercing, timeless, and universally relatable. Hara plays a sympathetic Noriko, torn between her duties and dreams, representing every generation. Watching the calm but authoritative Chishū Ryū is oddly exquisite as well. Overall, the movie is a perfectly paced character study.
6 Early Summer (1951)
The second installment in Yasujirō Ozu’s so-called “Noriko trilogy,” Early Summer also stars Setsuko Hara in the main role as a 28-year-old woman living comfortably with her extended family. However, after a visit from her uncle, her family arranges her marriage to a businessman. Noriko surprises them all by choosing to marry Kenkichi Yabe, a childhood friend and widowed father, instead.
Setsuko Hara and Ozu’s Stunning Collaboration
Ozu’s Noriko trilogy is an influential work of art in Japanese cinema because they focus mainly on single women in postwar Japan and their attempts to break the mold of what’s appropriate and acceptable in society. Early Summer showcases Ozu’s talent for depicting the intricacies of what happens when familial peace is interrupted. Hara’s charm makes her character’s journey of self-discovery and independence truly vivid and compelling. Also, Chishū Ryū and Chikage Awashima offer insightful support in this celebratory film.
5 Tokyo Story (1953)
Tokyo Story is the final film (and perhaps Yasujirō Ozu most widely popular ones) in the trilogy. In it, an elderly couple, Shūkichi and Tomi Hirayama, travel from their rural home in Onomichi to visit their grown children in bustling Tokyo. While the children remain busy in their lives and struggle to find time, the parents develop feelings of neglect and disappointment. The only person who genuinely cares about them is their widowed daughter-in-law, Noriko.
A Sorrowful Reflection on Family and Aging
Lauded by critics as a “masterpiece whose rewarding complexity has lost none of its power more than half a century on,” Tokyo Story holds a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. This time around, it features Hara in a different setting as Noriko, allowing her soothing and compassionate nature to take the narrative over. Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama underplayed their roles as the elderly couple yet conveyed a lifetime of love and loss. The wandering camera angle and minimalist style act as an allegory for the fact that home is not a place but people.
4 Early Spring (1956)
With Early Spring, Ozu wanted to, as he’d put it, “portray what you might call the pathos of the white-collar life.” The story delves into the life of Shoji Sugiyama, an office worker trapped in a monotonous marriage and a stifling job. After a hiking trip with his colleagues, Shoji begins an affair with a young typist nicknamed “Goldfish.” As the affair progresses, his wife becomes increasingly suspicious of Shoji’s behavior and their relationship deteriorates.
One of Ozu’s Most Acclaimed Later Works
Ozu not only bottles the mundanity of its central character’s relationships but also the struggles, both emotional and social, of the working class in a restless and disillusioned postwar Japan. His candid way of storytelling turns the marital strife and pressures of modern life into a compelling portrait of reality. Plus, he focuses so much on the quiet emotions and instincts of the characters that by the time the movie ends, you understand just why their relationships bloomed or fractured.
3 Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Tokyo Twilight tells the story of two sisters, Akiko and Takako. The former is a college student dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and a boyfriend who does not seem to love her, and the latter has left her unhappy marriage and returned to her father’s home with a toddler girl in her arms. The sisters have a strange encounter, which leads them to reuniting with their estranged mother, Kisako, after many years. This forces them to confront their part struggles of growing up without a mother and the impact it has had on their present.
A Dark and Relatable Family Drama
Family dynamics and repressed emotions are a recurring theme in Yasujirō Ozu’s movies. By photographing Tokyo during a time when it was trying to renew itself, he captures the spirit of rebuilding and the melancholy of lost traditions, making Tokyo Twilight one of his most emotionally intense movies of all time. Its somber tone and intricate dynamics coalesce into a powerful narrative. Ineko Arima and Setsuko are mesmerizing as the troubled sisters, and paired with the stark black-and-white cinematography, the movie is a unique drama.
2 Late Autumn (1960)
Another portrait of family, love, and conflict, and Yasujirō Ozu’s last film shot in black-and-white, Late Autumn, revolves around the life of Akiko Miwa, a widow, and her wholesome bond with her daughter, Ayako. When three middle-aged friends of Akiko’s late husband insist, Akiko agrees to find a suitable husband for Ayako, who is not thrilled about the idea of leaving her mother alone. The plot of the movie thickens when the friends suggest that Akiko should remarry as well, for it would encourage Ayako to do the same.
Ozu’s Most Affecting Work Of All Time
Late Autumn deservedly has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it has been received with glowing reviews by critics, with some calling it “as tonally ambiguous and morally complex as anything [Ozu] ever made.” It is aesthetically pleasing and nuanced in its exploration of the characters’ longing for purpose and belonging. Ozu pulls subtle and heartfelt performances from Setsuko Hara and Yoko Tsukasa as the mother and daughter, creating a rich tapestry of human emotions.
1 The End of Summer (1961)
It is ironic that The End of Summer is the last of Yasujirō Ozu’s movies with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score as it is also the penultimate film in the director’s illustrious career. Set in rural Japan, it follows the Kohayagawa family, led by the aging patriarch Manbei, who runs a sake brewery. He has two daughters and a daughter-in-law. His carefree and childlike behavior, which includes rekindling his romance with an old flame, causes distress among them and the entire Kohayagawa family is forced to come to terms with their dilemmas.
A Bittersweet Meditation on Change
Having been made in the 1960s, The End of Summer focused greatly on showcasing the inevitable changes brought into a family by time and generational shifts. It’s comedic but also tragic in depicting the delicate balance of family life. The liveliness and nostalgia of the conversations between characters, played wonderfully by Nakamura Ganjirō II, Setsuko Hara, and Yoko Tsukasa, remains unmatched to this day. The End of Summer may not be a standout in Ozu’s career, but it’s a near-perfect movie nonetheless.
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