The second film of the prolific Yoji Yamada, best known for the classic Tora-san series, Shitamachi Sunshine was conceived by Shochiku as a simple vehicle for popular singer Chieko Baisho, but the socially idealistic Yamada had other ideas. Baisho (later a Tora-san staple) shines as a cheerful factory worker amidst the iron foundries and dirty riversides of Tokyo’s working-class Shitamachi area. Her upwardly mobile boyfriend dreams of living “in a sunny room” but also wants her to “stay quiet.” A hard-charging factory worker complicates matters in this fascinating study of postwar Japanese social mobility and a woman’s choice in the paths she takes.

—Jason Sanders

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