What Did The Lady Forget?

Yasujiro Ozu followed his first talkie, The Only Son, with this nuanced 1937 comedy about a henpecked medical school professor who makes up a story for his wife so he can sneak off with his freethinking niece for a holiday. The professor’s subterfuge is discovered, which has complex emotional consequences; few critics have noted the rage and rebellion that crop up in Ozu’s work, and he’s masterful in showing how such feelings are worked out in the context of family. More conventional and commercial than its predecessor, this feature is also uncharacteristic of Ozu in its sharp satire of the rich (its trendy banter and lighthearted boozing suggest The Thin Man as a possible influence). In Japanese with subtitles. 71 min. (JR)

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