Aoi sanmyaku

Rather than the devoted daughter or relative she usually plays in Ozu movies here the great Setsuko Hara plays an edgier much more rebellious role as the free thinking English teacher at a girl's school. Although it might seem like a tempest in a teapot now .The plot centers around gossip and jealousy it nevertheless brings to focus some serious changes that were and still are occurring in Japan and it's attitude towards women's rights and freedoms in society. Excellent acting by all . Particularly the younger members of the cast who all seem very genuine.

The treasure trove of old Japanese films on YouTube led me to this two-part movie. (The second part is called, "Zoku aoi sanmyaku.") As whole, I thought it was interesting and very watchable, partly because it is somewhat unpredictable. I liked the overall theme of Japan emerging from the war as a new, less feudal country with less confrontational attitudes and a new interest in democracy-though the town's crooked leaders' attempt to apply a veneer of "democratic" principles to a fateful parent/teacher meeting was hilarious.

Although the plight of women at that time was rather miserable, the three main women in this story were all bright lights. It was interesting to see Yoko Sugi (from Mikio Naruse's "Husband and Wife") as the bullied school girl. She is a lively, and likeable presence in both roles.

It was also great to see Setsuko Hara play a commanding role as a progressive, modern teacher at girls' school attempting to break the hidebound chains of this rural town that were continuing to subjugate its girls and women. But she was almost outshone by Machiyo Kugure as the local geisha, who liked to play dumb, but didn't miss a trick (no pun intended). Although her role was not as big as her star turns in Ozu's "The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice" and Mizoguchi's "Street of Shame," it is just as memorable. I also liked her "little sister," played engagingly by Setsuo Wakayama (at age 20!).

Finally, it has to be remembered that any movies made then in Japan had to get past the American censors too. The censors probably liked the basic theme of the film and seemingly let slide some profanity and risqué dialogue, but I wonder if anything had to be changed.

Yôko Sugi has a friend, so the other girls in the class send a her nasty letters. Her teacher, Setsuko Hara, thinks is is terrible, so she brings it up in class, which upsets them. How dare there be consequences for their hammering down the nail that sticks up? Pressure from the administrators only stiffens Miss Hara's back. She has the support of the school doctor, Ichirô Ryûzaki, who is sweet on her. As the pressure grows, the school administration comes down to oppose her with soft words and leaked stories. Then...

Well, that's only half the story. It's a two-part movie, and this is only the first part. It looks to me like director Tadashi Imai is plowing his usual field of problem stories, but the tempest-in-a-teapot aspect makes me think this is a movie he made to please the American censors. There's a lot of talk in the movie about bad traditions, feudal habits of the countryside, and the need for more democratic values - ill defined here; it seems to be used as a synonym for toleration.

The usual skilled handling by Imai and Miss Hara's presence makes this movie very watchable. It is, however, no more than a minor entry in two titans' ledgers.

This film was contemporary at the time, as it involves resistance to the changes in the post war period. A young schoolgirl is seen spending time with an older boy and some of her classmates try to trick her by writing a note telling her to meet after school. The teacher Miss Shimazaki (the always great Setsuko Hara)calls the girls on their behavior. Basically, she states that it is okay for them to be with boys. The girls protest. Others are drawn in with their own opinions, including the local doctor, whose opinion has become more progressive as the film goes on. This is an interesting character study about a time when tradition was beginning to be challenged, even as it pertains to relationships. What seems quaint now was at the time very much a tug of war between people. Playing ostensibly a feminist, Ms. Hara is trying to get the girls to not just settle for a life where they will marry and eventually be miserable, since they will more or less be subservient to their husbands . In this context, the film triumphs, but it is a film of its time. Still, this film was made just before Late Spring, one of Ms. Hara's greatest films, in which she ironically plays the daughter of the great Chishu Ryu and is, in effect, a very traditional lady. Late Spring is an excellent character study of mores. This film tackles it in a different way. It is not as compelling as Late Spring, but it is certainly worth watching.

In this 1949 film, Setsuko Hara is Miss Shimazaki, a modern, liberated, proto feminist teacher who assures her pupils in an all girl high school in a small town in Japan that is OK for girls to be dating boys and not something immoral, as traditional cultural mores before the war would indicate. Not everybody in the conservative community will like her message, though.

A bit melodramatic, dated and didactic (it openly condemns "feudalism" of traditional Japanese society and encourages individualism), but fascinating. This was considered one of the best Japanese films of 1949, along with Late Spring (which has aged much better). That same year there was a sequel of this film, called New Blue Mountains and with the same director and cast.