Mikio Naruse’s best-known film of the 1930s is a bittersweet comedy of a young office worker trying to bring her estranged parents back together. With its witty young heroine (Sachiko Chiba, Naruse’s wife) and its “happy ending,” Wife! Be Like a Rose! seems atypical of Naruse’s films, most of which observe their heroines becoming tougher, if sadder, as they chart their way through an unfriendly world. But in this wonderful film, Naruse utilizes a deceptively simple style to examine from many angles the stifling nature of family life and the many ways that people find to make it livable.