There has been some speculation as to why Ozu concentrated exclusively on the problems of middle-class families in his post-1948 films. Bordwell, citing Japanese critic Tadao Sato, provides one possible explanation: "According to Sato, Ozu finishing "A Hen in the Wind" in 1948 was thereafter told by friends that he had reached the limits of his formal powers. He set out to find a stable subject through which he could refine his technique, and the life of the middle-class family was his choice."