A young lawyer falls in love with the daughter of his former professor, whom he's hired to tutor his children.
Acting
Setsuko Hara's eyes do more than most scripts.
Direction
Yoshimura's understated compositions build unbearable tension.
Director
Kōzaburō Yoshimura
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Occupation-era censorship, the film subtly critiques arranged marriage and class rigidities that Hollywood melodramas of the same period exaggerated.
Yoshimura and screenwriter Kaneto Shindō would later found the independent production company Kindai Eiga Kyōkai to escape studio control—this film's frustrations with systemic constraint mirror that eventual rebellion.
JP
