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Another slow-moving Japanese film, not unlike works by Ozu, say, or Teshigahara's Rikyu, or some things by Imamura. It is after all based on a novel by Natsume Soseki, the great Meiji-era author, regarded as one of the founders of modern Japanese literature, and like much else he wrote, it is restrained. Emotional reactions are mostly implied. There is more drama and emotion near the end, but probably not enough to satisfy the average Western viewer.

I don't mean to discourage the open-minded viewer from seeing this film, for it is really quite beautiful and well-executed, and if you can appreciate the drama of two people who feel very deeply for each other but are forbidden by strict social mores from expressing their feelings, you will not be disappointed.

To really appreciate the film. you have to understand the mentality of the Japanese, especially the Japanese society during the early 20th century. That is very different from the western way of doing, or even thinking things. The subtle messages and the hyper-sensitive (not really the exact word I would like but cannot think of any other at the moment) hit me with full impact and I was glued to the screen for the 134 minutes of it. It is a sad story, as most of the novels by the same author are. But that does not make it any less entertaining. I wish Japan can produce films like this more often. The recent output (apart from "Departure" which is excellent, are more often than not, disappointing.