Watched Late Spring again last night, to chill and to get a feel for the difference between Ozu and Hou nodding toward Ozu. But I mostly got sucked into watching.

The movie is really sad. I couldn't sympathize with it the first time around--somehow I couldn't read 'nascently faltering social smiles' as distinct from 'cardboard acting' before--but this time it was wrenching.

The Noh play is especially awful. There's no loneliness quite like being the only person in a room unable to enjoy something. I don't believe that it really happens how she hangs her head; it seems too expressive for an audience member, even a distressed one. I read it more as her seeing herself emotionally alone, which is worse--denying even the comfort of hiding in herself.