description The Only Son Overview
"The Only Son" is a 1936 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, notable for being the director's first "talkie" or sound feature film. The plot concerns a widowed mother living in a rural town who sacrifices her savings to send her son to Tokyo for a better education, only to visit him years later and find him struggling financially. The film explores Ozu's recurring themes of generational conflict, parental sacrifice, and the urban-rural divide in early 20th-century Japan.
help The Only Son FAQ
What sacrifice does the mother make in The Only Son?
Tsune works in a silk factory and gives up her limited resources so her son Ryosuke can continue his education. When she visits him in Tokyo years later, she discovers that he is supporting a wife and child on a poorly paid teaching job.
Why is sound important in The Only Son?
Released in 1936, The Only Son was Yasujiro Ozu's first sound feature after years of making silent films for Shochiku. Ozu uses dialogue and environmental sounds quietly, without abandoning the controlled compositions associated with his silent work.
Who plays Ryosuke's former teacher in The Only Son?
Chishu Ryu plays Okubo, the teacher who persuades Tsune to support Ryosuke's education. When the family later meets him in Tokyo, Okubo is supporting four children by running a tonkatsu restaurant.
Over how many years does the story of The Only Son unfold?
The story begins in rural Shinshu in 1923 and moves forward to Tsune's Tokyo visit in 1936. That 13-year span turns Ryosuke's childhood promise of success into a painful examination of economic reality.
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