In a provincial town, Shuhei Horikawa, a widowed teacher, leads a modest life with Ryohei, his only son. During a school trip, a student drowns. Shuhei takes responsibility for the accident and decides to find his native region. During the trip, father and son discuss life and future time. Shuhei announces to his son that he is going to study in boarding school, inexorably implying their estrangement from each other.
Filmed during World War II, Once Upon a Father remains one of Ozu's favorite films. Around the relationship between a father and his son, the filmmaker offers a universal reflection on rivalry and the legacy of family and cultural values. Unanimously acclaimed by the press when it was released in France in 2005, Once Upon a Father is a sincere and moving work.
“Ozu's Forgotten Masterpiece. » Telerama
“Certainly, Once Upon a Father is an unreleased film by Ozu, but that doesn't mean it's a minor work. Quite the contrary. » Figaroscope
HE WAS A FATHER
(1942 – B&W – 86 mins)
NEW BONUSES:
. INTERVIEW WITH CATHERINE CADOU (12 mins)
Filmed at the Tea Pavilion of the Maison du Japon in Paris, a return to the figure of the father in film and in Japan.
. INTERVIEW WITH JEAN-MICHEL FRODON (14 mins)
Filmed at the Tea Pavilion of the Maison du Japon in Paris, a reflection on the evolution and refinement of Ozu's style.
. NOTHING (17 mins)
A film analysis by Jean Douchet.
. CHISHU RYU, THE FAVORITE ACTOR (45 mins)
A unique documentary.
. FIGURES: SEAS AND RIVERS (6 mins).
From yesterday to today, a parallel on the hypnotic power of seas and rivers, recurring places in Ozu's filmography.
. RESTORATION
Released June 21, 2006
