When I watched this film on DVD for the first time, I thought it was spoilt by the pro-Occupation Authorities propaganda which Kurosawa lays onto the film with a trowel. The initial (written) statement about Japanese militarism, the occasional political statements on the same theme by Noge during the film, the portrayal of Noge (a man who however much I might agree with his ideas, was undoubtedly a traitor to his country), were all no doubt exactly what the Occupation Authorities wanted the Japanese people to hear. Whether the Japanese people wanted to hear them is much more doubtful; and more doubtful still is that they (as the film suggests) agreed. Which was a pity, I thought, because there's a good film here trying to get out.
However, it's my custom to watch films twice when I can, and after a second viewing my opinion has changed somewhat. The propaganda is still intrusive, and it doesn't improve the film one bit, but it's localised to the beginning, the middle, and a few utterances in between, and it's possible to wince and concentrate on the story, particularly the final half hour or so, in which propaganda is (almost) dispensed with. Yukie's change from city girl to villager is shown brilliantly by her clothes, the way she drinks, and the tan on her face (though the tan has mysteriously disappeared when she wears Western clothes again at the very end of the film, so perhaps it was just dirt). And the effect of the villagers whisperings on her is shown in the same way as the similar scene in Hakuchi where Kameda gets the same treatment from horses' bridle bells. It's possible to see Kurosawa experimenting with techniques he would use in later films, something which is itself interesting.
A final note on Setsuko Hara's performance as Yukie: a number of people have commented on this, and I have to say that it's one of the best I've seen from her (obviously, I haven't seen them all), along with those in Naruse's Meshi and Yama no Oto. We know her best in the West from her work with Ozu (at least, I did), but I can't help thinking that Ozu doesn't get the best from her. She plays pretty much the same character in every Ozu film I've seen her in, only the names and situations change - the mother in Late Autumn is the daughter in Late Spring, just several years older, and widowed and with a daughter of her own (and with a different name). For those who aren't sure just how good she was, this is worth watching.
However, it's my custom to watch films twice when I can, and after a second viewing my opinion has changed somewhat. The propaganda is still intrusive, and it doesn't improve the film one bit, but it's localised to the beginning, the middle, and a few utterances in between, and it's possible to wince and concentrate on the story, particularly the final half hour or so, in which propaganda is (almost) dispensed with. Yukie's change from city girl to villager is shown brilliantly by her clothes, the way she drinks, and the tan on her face (though the tan has mysteriously disappeared when she wears Western clothes again at the very end of the film, so perhaps it was just dirt). And the effect of the villagers whisperings on her is shown in the same way as the similar scene in Hakuchi where Kameda gets the same treatment from horses' bridle bells. It's possible to see Kurosawa experimenting with techniques he would use in later films, something which is itself interesting.
A final note on Setsuko Hara's performance as Yukie: a number of people have commented on this, and I have to say that it's one of the best I've seen from her (obviously, I haven't seen them all), along with those in Naruse's Meshi and Yama no Oto. We know her best in the West from her work with Ozu (at least, I did), but I can't help thinking that Ozu doesn't get the best from her. She plays pretty much the same character in every Ozu film I've seen her in, only the names and situations change - the mother in Late Autumn is the daughter in Late Spring, just several years older, and widowed and with a daughter of her own (and with a different name). For those who aren't sure just how good she was, this is worth watching.