MOVIE · 1942
There Was a Father
Drama94 min
Shuhei Horikawa is a poor schoolteacher trying to raise his son alone, with little money and few prospects to offer beyond discipline, education, and his own example. Chishû Ryû is Shuhei, a reserved father whose efforts to do right by the boy are shaped as much by duty as affection. In wartime Japan, the film follows the strain that work and circumstance place on their bond, moving between the classroom and home life as Shuhei tries to prepare his son for adulthood while keeping hold of his place in it.
Find out what fits your taste.
Rate movies and shows in ReelRecs, save your next watch, and get personal recommendations from the Reel Recs online service. Free on iPhone and Android.
Where to watch in US
These offers have not all been recently verified. Check the provider for current availability.
Included with a subscription
Free with ads
- Plex
Availability checked October 24, 2026. Offers can change. Rentals and purchases are separate from subscriptions.
More to consider
The Only Son (1936)
After years of sacrifice to send her only son to school in Tokyo, a rural widow finally travels to see the life he has made for himself. Chôko Iida is the mother who gave up what little she had for his education; Shin'i…
Equinox Flower (1958)
Hirayama prides himself on being modern about marriage until his daughter announces that she intends to marry a coworker, not the man chosen through an arranged match. Shin Saburi is the father, whose public liberalism …
A Story from Chikamatsu (1954)
In old Kyoto, the wife of a prosperous printer becomes entangled with a young clerk after a desperate act inside the household sets rumor and suspicion in motion. What begins as an attempt to protect a servant from puni…
Catalogue checked October 30, 2026. Use ReelRecs with an assistant