| The Only Son | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yasujiro Ozu |
| Produced by | Den Takayama |
| Written by | Yasujiro Ozu (as James Maki) (story) Tadao Ikeda Masao Arata (screenplay) |
| Starring | Chouko Iida Shinichi Himori Chishu Ryu |
| Music by | Senji Itô |
| Cinematography | Shojiro Sugimoto |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
| Release date(s) | 1936 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Only Son (ひとり息子 Hitori musuko) is a 1936 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu, starring Chouko Iida and Shinichi Himori. The film was Ozu's first "talkie" (sound film) feature.[1][2]
The film starts in the rural town of Shinshū in 1923. A widow, Tsune (O-Tsune) Nonomiya (Chouko Iida), works hard at a silk production factory to provide for her only son, Ryosuke. When Ryosuke's teacher Ookubo (Chishu Ryu) persuades her to let her son continue to study beyond elementary school, she decides to support her son's education even until college. Her son promises to become a great man.
Thirteen years later, in 1936, O-Tsune, now in her sixties, visits Ryosuke (Shinichi Himori), who is twenty-eight, in Tokyo. She learns that her son, now a night school teacher, has married and even has a one-year-old son. Her daughter-in-law Sugiko is nice and obliging, but Ryosuke's job does not pay much. Ryosuke and O-Tsune visit Ookubo, who is now a father of four and running an eating house selling cutlets.
The couple keeps the mother entertained but their money is running out. On a trip to an industrial district one day, Ryosuke confides in the mother that he wish that he had never come to Tokyo, and that he is a disappointment to his mother. He later states that Tokyo is not a place where one can succeed easily. O-Tsune chides her son for giving up, telling him she has nothing now left, neither land nor house, and she only wants him to succeed.
Sugiko sells her kimono and raises enough money for the whole family to go out to enjoy themselves. However Tomibo (Tomio Aoki), a neighbor's son, gets injured by a horse and Ryosuke rushes him to the hospital. There he gives their money to Tomibo's mother for her to foot the hospital bill. O-Tsune sees all this, and later tells Ryosuke he has done her proud for his selfless act.
O-Tsune eventually returns to Shinshu, but not before giving the couple some money for her grandson. Ryosuke promises his wife he will obtain a teaching certificate. Back at Shinshu, O-Tsune tells her friend at the factory her son has become a "great man". But as she retires to the back of the factory after work, her face breaks into an expression of deep grief and pain.
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