It's such a strange, sad, sweet film.

Yasujiro Ozu's delicate melodramas (this one dates from his finest period, 1951) avoid any sense of cliche in their restrained, sometimes painfully subtle study of family relationships.

No one shrug or sigh or smile is more or less dispensible than another gesture, which explains why minor characters are so important in Ozu films.

... offers a glimpse at a culture in transition after World War II, with a new generation of young adults rebelling against the traditions of their parents and western conventions woven through the fabric of Japanese lives.