

In post-WWII Osaka, a middle-aged woman is forced to examine her dreary life and marriage when her husband's young and flirtatious cousin arrives for a brief stay to escape an arranged marriage.
Acting
Setsuko Hara's face does three films' worth of dialogue.
Direction
Naruse frames domestic life like a trap closing slowly.
Writing
Every meal scene is a tiny tragedy. You'll never look at rice the same.

Director
Mikio Naruse
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Naruse made this between two of his most famous films — it's basically his 'what if marriage actually sucks' thesis statement.
This was Naruse's first collaboration with Setsuko Hara after Ozu's 'Late Spring' — she traded one director who understood women's silences for another, equally devastating one.