No Regrets for Our Youth

While not among Kurasawa's very best films, No Regrets For Our Youth is nonetheless very interesting and impressive. Marking his breakthrough as a film-maker, it is a great early effort from who I consider the king of Japanese cinema. Technically and visually, it cannot be faulted. The scenery is beautiful and epic still(though even more so in films like Seven Samurai, Kagemusha and Ran) and the camera work is sweeping and very accomplished in its technique. The script really helps to enhance the compelling and very moving story that is high on politics, romantic innocence and emotional impact, and the characters whether as students or 10 years older are convincing and emphatic throughout. Setsuku Hara is astonishing, spirited and innocent as well as managing to convey a lot of depth. Kurasawa's direction as ever is subtle while also giving credibility to the story and characters while showing a great sense of style. Overall, a great film, well worth seeing if not quite one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox

In 1933, in Kyoto, the academic freedom is under attack and the spoiled daughter of Professor Yagihara (Denjirô Ôkôchi), Yukie Yagihara (Setsuko Hara), is courted by the idealistic student Ruykichi Noge (Susumu Fujita) and by the tolerant Itokawa (Akitake Kôno). When the academic freedom is crushed by the fascists, Professor Yagihara and the members of the Faculty of Law resigns from their positions and Noge is arrested.

Five years later, Noge visits Professor Yagihara and his family under the custody of the now Prosecutor Itokawa and tells that he is going to China. Yukie decides to move alone to Tokyo and years later, she meets Itokawa in Tokyo and he tells that Noge is living in Tokyo. Yukie visits Noge and they become lovers.

In 1941, Noge is arrested accused of ringleader of a spy network and Yukie is also sent to prison. When she is released, sooner she learns that Noge died in prison and she decides to move to the peasant village where Noge's parents live and are blamed of being spies by the villagers. She changes her lifestyle and works hard with Madame Noge (Haruko Sugimura) planting rice and earning the respect of her mother and father-in-law. With the end of the war, freedom is restored in the defeated Japan and the flowers blossom again.

Japanese militarists used the Manchurian Incident as a pretext to press the public for support to invade the Asian mainland. Any opposing ideology was denounced as "Red". The Kyoto University Incident a.k.a. Takigawa Incident was one example of this tactic.

Using this historical event and the Japanese tradition as background, Akira Kurosawa released in 1946 the fictional "Waga seishun ni kuinashi" a.k.a. "No Regret for Our Youth" to disclose the lack of freedom in Japan of those years. I do not recall in this moment any other film of this great director with such strong female character. Further, Kurosawa seems to be influenced by Yasujirô Ozu disclosing the relationship of Yukie with her family first and with Noge's parents in the second half of his story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Não Lamento Minha Juventude" ("No Regret for Our Youth")

Obstensibly it is a story about Hun, played by Setsuko Hara, who falls in love with a spy, in a time of great turmoil and protests to combat fascism. What makes it a 10 star film is that as it goes along it becomes much more absorbing, with the characters becoming deeper in their beliefs. Here it is: Setsuko Hara does an amazing job playing the young girl. This is her first great role and I was astounded by the depth of her performance. She plays sweet, young, very pretty, but over the course of the film, which spans approximately 11 years, she falls not on hard times, but wields a meditation on personal sacrifice. Having only seen her up to now in Ozu films, I thought she was one of the greatest. Now, I know she was. She plays this character with everything. She even credibly ages over the film. You have to give Mr. Kurosawa credit also, of course, but Ms. Hara's performance makes this an incredible film, which only gets better as it goes along. This film is now part of a box set, and very highly recommended. Any complaints, which I'll mention but are very minor, are sometimes the subtitles are wrong and the film is at times blurry when there is movement (I have this film on an earlier box set, maybe these problems have been rectified). Just know that this is an incredibly absorbing film starring the excellent Setsuko Hara and directed by the great Akira Kurosawa. That alone makes this worth the price of admission, and it delivers wonderfully.

In my opinion, all of Kurosawa's films from 1946 through 1966 (I've seen about 18 which are available on video) are highly recommended. They are not only good the first time through, but hold up to multiple viewings. The star of No Regrets For our Youth is Setsuko Hara, who also starred in Kurosawa's The Idiot and in several Yasujiro Ozu films including Tokyo Story and Early Summer. From what I have heard on the commentaries, she was a big, big star in Japan and it's easy to see why. She conveys a tremendous amount of emotion and generates great sympathy for her characters. She was outstanding in Tokyo Story. We also have a short appearance by Takashi Shimura as a bad guy.

I was very impressed by how the film made the characters convincing in both the first act where they are college students, and then again nearly 10 years later. The characters have changed not only in appearance but in personality and mannerisms. It made the passing years very convincing.

The film is interesting from both an historical viewpoint and as a pure drama. This was made just a year or so after the Japanese surrender in World War II, and we get a good feel for how the militaristic government in Japan was able to gain the unquestioning support of most of the population. Some things never change, do they?

Highly recommended, although if you are starting out on Kurosawa, you may want to try something from the 1955 to 66 period.

This film focuses on the young woman Yukie, and her relationship with two of her male friends, Isokawa and Noge. Isokawa is weak-willed and practical while Noge is a fiery anti-war protester. Yukie is fascinated with Noge, but is unable to impress him because he is only concerned with the anti-war movement. Through the first part of the film, she follows an unfocused path, somewhat following Noge and somewhat rebelling against her parents, who would prefer she marry Isokawa and settle down. Yukie eventually settles down with Noge, and this is where the movie's pivotal point.

The title of the movie comes from Noge's statement to Yukie halfway through the film - she does not know he has continued his involvement in the anti-war movement, although he has spent time in prison and China for protesting. He tells her he has no regrets for any of his actions. Yukie doesn't quite understand until he is arrested and eventually killed for spying. Yukie has the option of returning home to her parents, but instead she finds Noge's parents and moves in with them. There she suffers hardship, sickness, and the humiliation of being known as an anti-war collaborator. The central question of the movie is why did she do this? Was she trying to "hold on" to a lost lover? Did she feel guilt over not having been more active in the anti-war movement? Was this her penance for a mis-spent youth? Even more perplexing is the way she rebukes Isokawa at the end of the film by refusing to show him Noge's grave - Isokawa had supported Japanese involvement in the war.

Perhaps the film is about the mind-state of Japan after losing the war - those who opposed the war, or who struggled through hardship to live normal lives, should value their actions in spite of the consequences. Those who supported the war deserve scorn and share in the responsibility of bloodshed.