Yuwaku

This film seems to be made for Setsuko Hara. She had recently become independent from Toho studios and after a couple of hits was in demand by filmmakers like Kurosawa and then Ozu. For a celebrity actress she was very private and spurned any suggestion of romance yet there were strong rumours of her relationship with her brother in law who she shared lodgings with in Tokyo for some of the war years. Regardless she had a deep respect for him, never married and in later years was a recluse.

The film which is essentially about a young 21 year old (even though she was 28 when filmed) falling in love with a married ex student of her father's, an older man and a respected professional. It maybe reflects her more than other roles she was more famous for, although she is said to have enjoyed the parts where she was more of an independent soul.

A good performance but not a classic film. Prime Setsuko Hara commanding the screen with those subtle stares and understated charm.

as usual, Setsuko Hara lights up the screen in this drama, plays Takako, a student who lost her father. While at the graveside, she meets Ryukichi, played by Shin Saburi, who is a former student of Takako's father offers to have her live with him and his kids. Ryukichi's wife is ill and lives in a sanitarium. Takako becomes part of the family, caring for the kids and helping Ryukichi. The film's plot moves toward whether Takako and Ryukichi begin to have affection for each other, which of course complicates everything. While the film is a standard drama, Setsuko Hara is wonderful in it, displaying sadness, glee and other emotions extremely well. She at times looks beautiful in the film also, but it is the depths of her emotions that carry the film. This is not one of the best films she has been in (there are so many classics she was part of)but she was an extraordinary actress, always standing out in the films she has been in. She has been called the Katherine Hepburn of Japanese actresses, and that is a fairly accurate analogy, both of them were adept in different genres. Worth a look, but first check out her other amazing films first to get an immediate appreciation of her rare talent.

Setsuko Hara's father has died and she doesn't know what to do with her life. She wishes to be a doctor, but her route to this is unclear. One of her father's former students, rising politician Shin Saburi, has a wife dying in a sanitarium from tuberculosis. He proposes she stay at his house and take care of his children. They think it is an innocent arrangement, but it turns out they are mistaken.

I have some sympathy for the characters here. They try to do the right thing, despite their growing lust for each other. But over all, it is not the sort of story that gives me much enjoyment, despite the stellar leads and the sure-handed direction of Kôzaburô Yoshimura.