Within the framework of the aching melodrama the director daringly highlights the weight of tradition and duty that crushes the individual spirit.

The issue of separation acquired a particular poignancy in wartime, it goes without saying, but Ryu's stoic underplaying offers a heartbreaking performance for the ages.

A delicate, straightforward exhortation to duty and sacrifice, presented with both humor and a kind of unforced serenity.

... an indisputable masterpiece.... a work of grace and simplicity that feels as timeless now as it was timely then.