Mother, January 22
© 1952 Toho Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(Okasan). Kinuyo Tanaka is an understated tragedian in keeping with this film of enormous losses treated almost casually, a film of non-incident laced with much incidental humor. The story of a mother trying to make a go of the family dry-cleaning business following the death of her husband is told through the eyes of her adoring teenage daughter, played by the bright and sensitive teenage actress Kyoko Kagawa. There is a whole genre in Japan devoted to "mother" movies (haha-mono), but Naruse sidesteps sentimentality; set in the homes and streets of a Tokyo suburb, this is slice-of-life. The passing of time, with its untimely deaths, is only insinuated in dialogue; as always, Naruse's approach to women's sacrifice is astringent and complex (though bringing a hankie would not be amiss). Mother was the first Japanese film to be released in Europe, where it was inevitably compared with the Italian neorealist works that had recently emerged.

• Written by Yoko Mizuki. Photographed by Hiroshi Suzuki. With Kinuyo Tanaka, Kyoko Kagawa, Masao Mishima, Akihiko Katayama. (98 mins, In Japanese with English subtitles, B&W, 35mm, Courtesy of The Japan Foundation, permission Janus/Criterion Collection)