Noriko Smiling

'Late Spring, directed and co-written by Yasujir? Ozu, was released in 1949, which makes it an old film, or a film that has been new for a long time?' So begins this remarkable essay in narrative reconstruction. Film-critic, novelist and essayist Mars-Jones gives a virtuoso performance as the lost figure of film explainer, drawing out a host of meaning from the reticence of Ozu's classic Japanese movie. 'So long after its first releaseLate Springis still limber and elusive,' enthuses Mars-Jones.Noriko Smilingbreathes new life into both Ozu's film, and film studies as a whole. There has never been a film book like this.