Kimi to yuku michi

Heihachirô Ôkawa and Hideo Saeki are the sons of Tamae Kiyokawa. Because she was their father's mistress, they are not properly part of the family; she accepted a large settlement when he died and they are comfortable. She is, as mothers properly are, concerned about her sons' future, and keeps suggesting practical (i.e. financially rewarding) family situations for them. They, however, are young and romantic, and Ôkawa and the neighbor's daughter, Naoyo Yamagata, are in love. Her family does not approve, not only because of his low rank, but because her father needs half a million yen to keep the business going, and an elderly suitor is willing to offer that as a bride price.

Saeki is in love, too, with Naoyo Yamagata, Miss Yamagata's best friend and the lovers' go-between. She is very taken with her admirer.

Mikio Naruse's take on the travails of young romantic love in a coldly practical and tradition-bound world can be looked on as a clear-eyed variation on ROMEO AND JULIET. The elders are all practical, and Miss Kiyokawa gives a fine performance as the loving mother who constantly annoys her sons because she does not even begin to consider what they want and feel. Likewise, her sons make no attempt to understand the issues that consume her thoughts; they are in love, beautiful love, and the uncaring and tradition-bound world, they believe, must give way to true love.

When we studied Shakespeare's play in high school, and then saw Zefferelli's movie version, I was struck by what impatient idiots Romeo and Juliet were. Naruse's version is not one of his best movies, but he makes it clear that the fault lies in the hands of everyone involved.