There was a war…
One of the recent releases from Criterion Collection is “The Only Son/There Was a Father: Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu”, two of the Ozu films rarely seen by western audiences. “There was a Father” was released during the Pacific War, and whenever this film is discussed, its aspect as a war time propaganda is always a topic. There is a very good essay on the film by Tony Ryans, which discusses the ambiguity of the message in the film. It may seem strange by today’s standards, but this film was a propaganda. Office of Intelligence awarded this film as “People’s …