Nagareru

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

A piece of downbeat lower middle class realism distinguished by Naruse's characteristic sensitivity of observation and density of social detail. Also features no less than three of the finest Japanese leading ladies of all time in Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada and Hideko Takamine. Utterly authentic.

A fine film that is kind of midway between Ozu's gently-paced domestic drama and Mizoguchi's stories about prostitutes. Naruse takes a snapshot of a brief period in the decline of a geisha house, as post-war society in Japan shifts to a more modernized mindset. It's not a particularly subtle or ground-breaking work, but it is agreeably well-done. Not a bad performance in the bunch, and it's got a nicely rounded set of characters. Occasionally confusing, though.