Hideko Takamine writes an essay. Following the instructions of her teacher, Shiro Mizutani, she improves it, and eventually one of her compositions is published in a magazine. However, in her effort to be honest, the article contains a slighting remark about the most powerful man in the neighborhood. Her father, a poor tinsmith, loses jobs, his bicycle is stolen, and the family has nothing to eat.
Kajirô Yamamoto's movie is based on the writings of a real girl, Masako Toyoda. Miss Takamine, already an eight-year veteran of the movies, is a gawky, 14-year-old girl, with a lovely smile, if not quite the polished actress she would become after the war. This one reminds me of the Academy-Award-winning I REMEMBER MAMA, even though that movie came out eight years later, and the family in this one is nowhere near as idealized.
Akira Kurosawa was the chief Assistant Director on this movie.
Kajirô Yamamoto's movie is based on the writings of a real girl, Masako Toyoda. Miss Takamine, already an eight-year veteran of the movies, is a gawky, 14-year-old girl, with a lovely smile, if not quite the polished actress she would become after the war. This one reminds me of the Academy-Award-winning I REMEMBER MAMA, even though that movie came out eight years later, and the family in this one is nowhere near as idealized.
Akira Kurosawa was the chief Assistant Director on this movie.