In this gentle emotional piece which was produced after World War II, we see the world through the eyes of a teacher who has "Western" ideas. She cannot fathom the culture that tells twelve year olds that they should embrace death for the glorious Emperor. She gets a job in a school in the hinterlands and immediately annoys the older population by riding a bicycle instead of walking (there are no other bicycles). Soon she is attached to her students but falls under the heel of administrators and the political climate. At times she puts herself in danger by talking about certain things in her classroom. As the years pass, her students go different ways, people die from starvation, others go through great pain because of no future. The war, of course, claims some. This is a very long film and full of emotion. As is the case with many Japanes films, there is patriotic singing throughout, a kind of indoctrination. But there are also folk songs which parallel the events that take place. This is a priceless film if you can stay for the duration.
Review of Twenty-Four Eyes
