A married Japanese forester during WWII is sent to Indochina to manage forests. He meets a young Japanese typist and promises to leave his wife. He doesn't and after the war, she turns up and the affair resumes.
Acting
Takamine's face contains entire novels of suffering.
Direction
Naruse's static camera makes small rooms feel like prisons.
Cinematography
Rain, trains, and ruins—every frame aches with longing.
Director
Mikio Naruse
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Naruse shot this in actual post-war ruins, including former military barracks—no set dressing needed for devastation.
Based on Hayashi Fumiko's autobiographical novel; she died of heart failure at 48, much like her protagonist. The film premiered two months after her death.
JP
