Do you love Japanese film classics, anime or contemporary cinema stories? Do you miss Japan and want to see it at least on screen? Would you like to learn and discuss about Japanese culture and society? Join us for the Japan Society Film Club where we will chat online about films and Japan in an informal atmosphere.

Join us on 3 May when we will discuss Late Spring, One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu's family portraits.

Late Spring (晩春, Banshun, 1949) tells the story of Professor Shukichi Somiya (Chishu Ryu), a widower, and his twenty-seven-year-old unmarried daughter, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who takes care of the household and the everyday needs of her father. They live together in perfect harmony but old certainties are put at risk when an interfering aunt raises the question of marriage. Starring Chishu Ryu, who was featured in almost all of the director's films, and Setsuko Hara, marking her first of six appearances in Ozu's work, it is the first installment of Ozu’s so-called "Noriko trilogy”. Introducing Ozu's popular Noriko character, Late Spring poignantly examines the gradual compromise between modernity and tradition.

Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963) is one of the masters of classic cinema in Japan and around the world. Director of masterpieces such as Tokyo Story or Late Spring, he is most known for his inventive formal style and his recurrent stories, universal and specifically Japanese at the same time. 

Japan Society Film Clubs take place on the first Wednesday of the month. We recommend a film to watch in advance and meet online to discuss. Films are often available online for free, to rent or with subscription, as well as on DVD/Blu Ray. When possible, we also invite film experts to introduce and lead the discussion, but the event is open to all and we encourage participants to freely express their opinions and feelings about the films.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk. 

Booking Info

Please remember to watch the film in advance. Late Spring is available to watch on BFI, Amazon UK and Apple TV. It will also be screened at Japan House London on 16 and 19 April 2023 as part of the Focus on Ozu Yasujirō screening season. Click here for details.