At the end of World War II, Japan has been pushed into poverty, so much
so that a young woman who has run a small pub together with her now
deceased husband sees herself forced into prostitution. A former soldier
who reminds her of her husband pays her for a night with her, but as he
doesn't ask for sex but actually lets in a neighbourhood boy to stay with
them, she's somewhat impressed, and she lets the soldier stay a few more
nights, even though he's not able to pay. On the other hand the boy does
bring food every night, even if it's all stolen. After a few nights
though, the soldier, traumatized and all, does get rough, and suddenly the
boy proves to be the woman's savior as he happens to carry a handgun, That
he's carrying is much to the dismay of the woman though, and is just bound
to get the boy into trouble ... Now ok, that the film shifts
narrative focus halfway in and doesn't offer a perfect resolution for its
first half might be a bit off-putting, but that said it's at the same time
a very powerful and very engaging film, especially because it doesn't
spell everything out, only hints at things (including the World War II
setting, actually), instead concentrates on character work and the
emotional weight of its story - and does really well at that, abd also
thanks to a sttong cast and a suitably subtle directorial effort making
this into a really awesome piece of cinema.
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