A "quickie" both in that it was made in eight days and that it lasts only 47 minutes, this Depression melodrama is nevertheless a remarkable moment in Ozu's films. The story involves a young woman, Chikako, who works two jobs to support herself and put her brother, Ryoichi, through college. When Ryoichi finds that she has been a prostitute for his sake, he commits suicide. Chikako weeps over his body, "You innocent boy, to die for such a small thing! You cowardly boy!" David Owens of the Japan Society notes, "Ozu's theme here is reminiscent of the 'social realist' films Kenji Mizoguchi began making at about this time, all of which deal with women who sacrifice themselves totally for the betterment of young men they love. One brief diversion from his sad story--and Ozu was always fond of diversions--has Ryoichi and (his girlfriend) off to the movies (of course) to see If I Had a Million, a 1932 omnibus film; the part we see is the segment directed by Ozu's favorite, Ernst Lubitsch, and featuring Charles Laughton." After its premiere revival in New York, J. Hoberman of the Village Voice included A Woman of Tokyo among the 10 best films of 1982, calling it "a subtle riot of discordant formal devices. The eye-line matches are as weird as the spatial jumps are bizarre. There's a long interpolation of the credits from a Hollywood feature, the crucial scene is dominated by a giant close-up of a teapot, and the ending is a breathtaking wrench of perspective from individual tragedy to matter-of-fact social breakdown. Ozu never made another film like this one, and neither has anyone else."