Shûu

Setsuko Hara is married to Shûji Sano and they live in a poor mews. They do things that irritate each other. He has a wonky stomach. She doesn't like to leave the house, even on his day off. Her niece comes by and complains that she's going to leave her brand new husband. New neighbors move in. His shoes are cracking. Is the leads' marriage about to break down because of irritation?

It's all the little, petty things, the day-to-day living that kills you, not the big things. I've noted this in other reviews of Naruse's movies: directors like Ozu are interested in the big events of marriages, like how to get the young daughter married. Naruse is interested in how they get along and how they don't: he never uses an ashtray, she doesn't want to go to the movies, he pays too much attention to the pretty young bride next door, she loses her purse with all their money. Drip, drip, drip, and even the stone wears away under the drops. What keeps them going?

The leads are excellent in this movie, so much so that you feel intensely sorry for each of them in turn. It's not one of Naruse's best movies. It's small and cramped visually, like their lives, and only opens up occasionally, putting them out into a world full of gossiping neighbors, failing employers, cheating shopkeepers, and supercilious strangers. Still, it works altogether, and makes its point with sudden burst of wry humor.

Sudden Rain is about a couple whose marriage has gone stale. Fumiko is depressed and anxious, while her husband Ryotaro has stomach problems (which he blames on her cooking) and would rather read the newspaper than talk to Fumiko. There is not much of a plot to the movie, just a series of circumstances that add to the stress of their marriage: a pretty new neighbor, the threat of a layoff and an increasingly hostile neighborhood that blames them for the antics of a stray dog. If this sounds depressing, it is. What keeps it from being a total slog are little touches of humor. Not a great movie, but still one worth watching.

Side note: I watched this movie because it was announced this week that Setsuko Hara, the star of this and many other classic Japanese movies, had died. She is best known (here in America anyway) for her world weary smile. That smile is very much in evidence in this movie, although it fades fast and is often replaced by brief glimpses of depression and fear. A great performance.