This collection features two rarely seen films by Yasujiro Ozu, both set in the domestic sphere and meditating on the challenges facing widowed parents in a changing Japan. The Only Son (Hitori Musuko, 1936, 82 mins.), Ozu's first film with fully synchronized sound, is an understated comic drama about a widowed mother (Choko Iida) who sacrifices all to give her son an education so he can escape poverty. Years later, she travels to Tokyo to see him and his "great achievements," but the reunion proves bittersweet. Filmed during wartime, There Was a Father (Chichi Ariki, 1942, 87 mins.) stars Chishu Ryu as a widowed teacher who moves his son to a small town so he can attend a better school. Unable to find a good job, though, the father is forced to move to Tokyo in order to fund his son's education. As you'd expect, the vast distance and years apart create a permanent gulf between father and son. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Yasujiro Ozu---Japan---1936/1942---169 mins.

• Release date: 07/13/2010