The Whole Family Works

Under the nose of military censors, Mikio Naruse made this quiet drama of a family’s struggle to make ends meet under depression conditions that have been made worse—it is implied but not stated—by the war against China. From the intimate, cluttered family environment, Naruse skillfully shows how the poorest citizens carry the burden of a nation’s ambitions. While complying with the military demand for “inspirational” films on filial piety, Naruse movingly depicts a generation holding its dreams in check for the war to come.