A contemplative and ambiguous account of a love triangle, based on a story by Junichiro Tanizaki and translated through Mizoguchi's use of the long, mobile shot infused with emotion. Kinuyo Tanaka portrays a young widow who rebuffs the advances of a wealthy man, then becomes the center of a scandal when he marries her sister to be near her. Andrew Sarris called this tale of the conflict between love and social propriety “an exceptionally poignant melodrama,” noting, “The perennial mystery of Mizoguchi's films is his revelation of Tanaka's iron will and transcendental appeal.”