Where to watch Early Summer in the United States
Early Summer (1951) is streaming on Max.
U.S. availability last verified
Early Summer
Top Pick
Included with subscription on Max
HD · Included
About
You can stream Early Summer (1951) on Max with a subscription.
In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.
Instead of a heavy melodrama about societal pressure, this quiet study of independence finds profound beauty in the mundane rhythms of domestic life. Small gestures and lingering shots capture the bittersweet tension between personal freedom and the expectations of a changing nation.
Trailer
Director
Yasujirō Ozu
Cast
Setsuko Hara, Chishū Ryū, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake, Ichirō Sugai, Chieko Higashiyama, Haruko Sugimura, Kuniko Igawa, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi, Shūji Sano
You might also like
See all →
Best way to watch
2 options ranked by value · 🇺🇸 United States
Included with subscription
Last verified 21 days ago
Early Summer
You can stream Early Summer (1951) on Max with a subscription.
IMDb
7.8/10
RT Critics
100%
Metacritic
Director
Yasujirō Ozu
Cast
Setsuko Hara, Chishū Ryū, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake, Ichirō Sugai, Chieko Higashiyama, Haruko Sugimura, Kuniko Igawa, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi, Shūji Sano
2 options ranked by value · 🇺🇸 United States
More popular movies
Keep browsing: New Releases · Popular Movies · Drama
marriage proposal · family relationships · matchmaking · tokyo, japan · post world war ii · post war japan · family issues · unmarried woman
Early Summer is streaming on Max. Early Summer is streaming on Criterion Channel. We have not verified a current option on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+. Availability last verified September 23, 2026.