Mikio Naruse's Yearning(1964) elegantly portrays the life in post war Japan where People's life were new but their problems were age old.
Hideko Takamine, a war widow, has built up a grocery shop on her own after the war in an struggling economy and is able to sustain herself and her brother and mother in law are also able to live on her expenses.
As the time changes, big supermarkets emerge, slowly crushing the smaller family owned shops out of competition, yet Hideko's Reiko is just able to meet her and her family's needs.
Her brother-in-law(koji) is her secret admirer and lover of her who doesn't show it openly but lives with that feeling everyday, just not able to express his feelings due to pressure of societies norms.
When he finally manages to tell his heart out, all her breaks loose in their small family and Reiko is left stranded in between her responsibilities as she herself also admires him.
Not to break his heart and maintain her dead husband's family name she decides to return back to her brothers home but Koji doesn't accepts it and follows her to give her last chance to accept her love for him.
When she finally accepts him after much thinking and deliberation of the heart it is a little too late as Koji has done something that she will never be able to forgive herself of.
These trivial yet grave matters were prominent in post war Japan and unlike Yasujiro Ozu's fantasy like world with little to no problems, Naruse's world is filled with struggle, commitments and broken dreams of the working class of Japan after the war.
Hideko Takamine, a war widow, has built up a grocery shop on her own after the war in an struggling economy and is able to sustain herself and her brother and mother in law are also able to live on her expenses.
As the time changes, big supermarkets emerge, slowly crushing the smaller family owned shops out of competition, yet Hideko's Reiko is just able to meet her and her family's needs.
Her brother-in-law(koji) is her secret admirer and lover of her who doesn't show it openly but lives with that feeling everyday, just not able to express his feelings due to pressure of societies norms.
When he finally manages to tell his heart out, all her breaks loose in their small family and Reiko is left stranded in between her responsibilities as she herself also admires him.
Not to break his heart and maintain her dead husband's family name she decides to return back to her brothers home but Koji doesn't accepts it and follows her to give her last chance to accept her love for him.
When she finally accepts him after much thinking and deliberation of the heart it is a little too late as Koji has done something that she will never be able to forgive herself of.
These trivial yet grave matters were prominent in post war Japan and unlike Yasujiro Ozu's fantasy like world with little to no problems, Naruse's world is filled with struggle, commitments and broken dreams of the working class of Japan after the war.