Late Spring

This Japanese drama about love is phenomenal. Setsuko Hara plays Noriko who is a unmarried 27 year old woman who lives with her father, Shukichi (played by Chishu Ryu) the film deep dives into what its like to be pushed into marriage even when the person you are marring isn't what you may want. Personally, its clear as day that she wanted Mr. Hattori, she only distances herself due to his current engagement. This film left me heartbroken for Noriko as you can tell she feels as sense of grief for leaving her father, even if he says he will be fine. The Cinematography is the biggest stand out for me, it creates space for feeling rather than expressing it. The film often showed empty rooms or empty shot without a core character focus, I would argue this what made the film more melancholy rather than just straight out devastating, they cool emotion rather than heightening it.