Ichiban utsukushiku (1944)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writer:

Akira Kurosawa (writer)

Release Date:

June 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The stories of several young women who work in a 'precision optical instruments' factory during the second World War...

Plot Keywords:

Weapon Making | Factory Worker | WWII | Shoe

Cast

Takashi Shimura	...	Chief Goro Ishida
Shôji Kiyokawa	...	Soichi Yoshikawa, Chief of General Affairs Section
Ichirô Sugai	...	Ken Shinda, Chief of Labor Section
Takako Irie	...	Noriko Mizushima, dorm mother
Yôko Yaguchi	...	Tsuru Watanabe, president of women workers
Sayuri Tanima	...	Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of the women workers
Sachiko Ozaki	...	Sachiko Yamazaki
Shizuko Nishigaki	...	Fusae Nishioka
Asako Suzuki	...	Asako Suzumura
Haruko Toyama	...	Masako Koyama
Aiko Masu	...	Tokiko Hiroda
Kazuko Hitomi	...	Kazuko Futomi
Shizuko Yamada	...	Hisae Yamaguchi
Itoko Kono	...	Sue Okabe
Toshiko Hattori	...	Toshiko Hattori

Also Known As:

Most Beautifully
The Most Beautiful

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kurosawa: The Last Emperor (1999) (TV)

For Kurosawa completists only

Like SANSHIRO SUGATA PART 2, this film was never released in the U.S. for political reasons. There's not any blatantly anti-American content, as in SSP2, but THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, filmed by government request, was a pro-Imperialist propaganda document.

Kurosawa gamely attempts to weave together a story which functions both as propaganda and as a tender coming-of-age story, but isn't entirely successful. This would have been a demanding proposition even for a seasoned pro, let alone a young director like Kurosawa, directing only his second feature.

The story follows a group of young girls working in an armaments factory in the latter days of WWII. The girls must increase production sharply. The girls suffer hardships of all sorts. One, Tao, emerges as the leader of the group. Through the travails of helping her coworkers meet their quotas, Tao learns courage, fortitude and compassion.

If all this sounds a little boring, that's because it is. Kurosawa's visual signatures are seldom seen. At least the performances are good, especially Yoko Yaguchi as Tao. Takashi Shimura has a thankless, do-nothing role as the foreman of the factory.