Loved this movie but the meaning totally went over my head. It wasn't until I listened to the audio commentary that I got it. And wow, now I enjoy it 10x more.

On the surface it's the story of a daughter & her father who wants her to get married. Straightforward, simple and enjoyable as is. But what it's really about is the post-WW2 reconstruction of Japan, in particular about America's occupation, rewriting Japan's constitution to include rights for women and freedom for the individual... for better or worse.

Before the war, most marriages were arranged, and wives weren't allowed to own property or divorce their husbands. Girls had to be married by their early 20s. Noriko's aunt encapsulates this old way of thinking; she is always in traditional Japanese attire with the old manners & customs, arranging a marriage for Noriko. The aunt represents pre-war Japan.

Noriko's friend is America. Immediately after the war she married for love, later divorced her husband and is now a successful single professional. She dresses in more casual attire, has a Western apartment with sofas, chairs & doors, bakes strawberry shortcake, and in case you missed it the camera even gives us a closeup of a stack of books on her table, all in English, one of which is titled "The Way of USA".

Noriko herself doesn't want to get married and aligns herself mostly with her friend, but her father aligns himself more closely to the aunt. West & East are perfectly balanced and Ozu doesn't preach which is better or worse but presents a snapshot of 1948 Japan, when the film was made, like a historical document showing the complex state of Japanese society right after the war. Somehow he managed to tell it all within this simple story of a daughter & father. Mind blowingly brilliant, and also just plain beautiful to watch.