Kigeki: Onna wa dokyô

This is a farce in the true sense. Mistaken assumptions spiral out of control, but somehow wrap up nicely in the end. Manabu (Kawarazaki) is the quiet one of the working class family. He prefers to stay in his corner of the house listening to classical music. Only his mother (Kiyokawa) is quieter – she never says a word as unemployed drunken father (Hanazawa) and equally drunken, womanizing older brother (Atsumi) fight. With Ai (Baisho) Manabu sees a way out of this squalid life. But with older brother intruding, maybe there's no way out after all. This is Morisaki's first picture as director. He handles the material nicely, keeping the action flowing and bringing out the best in the worried Kawarazaki and motormouth Atsumi. Atsumi is so strongly identified with the hapless Tora-san in Otoko wa Tsurai Yo, so it's fun to see him in a much different role. The setting is also a strong part of the film. This is pre-bubble Japan, where the prosperity hasn't come to the working classes yet. The neighborhood is on a river across from Narita airport, dominated by huge billboards for Yashica cameras, Birely's soft drinks and YKK Zippers. This film was basically just common entertainment for domestic audiences, so a subtitled version probably doesn't exist. And with so much local dialect, it's quite difficult to understand. But the atmosphere is interesting, though loud.