This is a very atypical Kurosawa and its said in some sources that he wasn't happy with the final result - he was working under the strict double censorship (Japanese and Occupation) at the time. But what we see now is a superb attempt to come to grips with responsibility for the war.
The story follows Yukie, a willful educated girl as she develops from a spoiled, self centered daughter of a respected academic, to the wife of a political radical who refuses to betray him. It features a remarkable performance from Setsuko Hara, unrecognisable from the nice, placid ladies she played so often for Ozu. The story is radical in its conception, making it explicit that it is the toughened, independent Hara, working in rice fields with her in laws is a more beautiful woman than the pretty 'nice' girl she once was. At least one feminist critic has described Yukie as the one truly liberated woman in all Japanese film history - it is hard to argue with this.
The film itself shows Kurosawa's by now effortless mastery of camera work and editing - the scene where Yukie defies a village to work in a rice paddy is spectacular and as good as you'll see from any film maker. It suffers a little from his debt to other film styles - Kurosawa had not yet developed his own unique vision.
The final scene - where Yukie looks at the camera as she recedes into the distance is heartbreaking in its ambiguity. Is she lost in a crowd, or resigned to her role in life? Either way, its one of the truly great final scenes. This is a truly great film, and shows that Kurosawa was a master of almost any genre he put his hand to.
The story follows Yukie, a willful educated girl as she develops from a spoiled, self centered daughter of a respected academic, to the wife of a political radical who refuses to betray him. It features a remarkable performance from Setsuko Hara, unrecognisable from the nice, placid ladies she played so often for Ozu. The story is radical in its conception, making it explicit that it is the toughened, independent Hara, working in rice fields with her in laws is a more beautiful woman than the pretty 'nice' girl she once was. At least one feminist critic has described Yukie as the one truly liberated woman in all Japanese film history - it is hard to argue with this.
The film itself shows Kurosawa's by now effortless mastery of camera work and editing - the scene where Yukie defies a village to work in a rice paddy is spectacular and as good as you'll see from any film maker. It suffers a little from his debt to other film styles - Kurosawa had not yet developed his own unique vision.
The final scene - where Yukie looks at the camera as she recedes into the distance is heartbreaking in its ambiguity. Is she lost in a crowd, or resigned to her role in life? Either way, its one of the truly great final scenes. This is a truly great film, and shows that Kurosawa was a master of almost any genre he put his hand to.