THE MOST BEAUTIFUL is a WW2 propaganda movie from Japan. It has few redeeming values apart from a level of realism you don't normally see in such productions, but the story is very slight and the events depicted are so slowly-paced as to make it a chore to sit through. The story follows a group of female workers at a factory making periscopes, and it narrows in on a handful of characters as they encounter conflict and personal struggle in their bid to do their best for their country. Sentimental stuff, then, but with more grit than syrup. This is only of interest for the presence of director Akira Kurosawa, forced to do his bit for the war cause, but compared to Hitchcock's rival wartime propaganda, this is low key and relatively uninteresting.
Review of The Most Beautiful
