This is a true slice of life movie depicting a moment in peoples lives as it seemed to be back then, the constant when are you going to get married... single women vs. married women. The family pressure, the nuclear family values and the strong presence of loss in the background. Actually I know very little about this time in history, and even less about the pressures of marriage in 1951s japan so this is actually just me guessing. But this movie does have a feel of moving on without forget ing ones roots... Progressive in many ways, saying women can choose their own paths while still screamin the only way to happiness is marriage.

The movie is kind of slow and does get to be a bit repetitive. The subs in the version I watched where a bit a head of their time making me have to use my brain a little bit to much.

If you are in to slow classics with a hint of woman can, this is not a bad place to find it.

Personally had it not been part of the syllabus for a course I am attending, I would probably not have stuck around to the end of it as I honestly did not really care if she would marry or who she would marry even if I appreciated the character of the female lead as she is actually kind of fun and cool.