No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

The daughter of a politically disgraced university professor struggles to find a place for herself in love and life, in the uncertain world of Japan leading into WWII.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Eijirô Hisaita (screenplay), Akira Kurosawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, Denjirô Ôkôchi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Setsuko Hara	...	Yukie Yagihara
Susumu Fujita	...	Ruykichi Noge
Denjirô Ôkôchi	...	Professor Yagihara, Yukie' father
Haruko Sugimura	...	Madame Noge, Ryukichi's mother
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Madame Yagihara, the prodessor's wife
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Mr. Noge, Ryukichi's father
Akitake Kôno	...	Itokawa
Takashi Shimura	...	Police Commissioner 'Poison Strawberry' Dokuichigo
Taizô Fukami	...	Minister of Education
Masao Shimizu	...	Professor Hakozaki
Haruo Tanaka	...	Student
Kazu Hikari	...	Detective
Hisako Hara	...	Itokawa's Mother
Shin Takemura	...	Prosecutor
Tateo Kawasaki	...	Servant

Storyline

In 1933, in Kyoto, academic freedom is under attack and the spoiled daughter of Professor Yagihara, Yukie Yagihara, is courted by the idealistic student Ruykichi Noge and by the tolerant Itokawa. When the academic freedom movement is crushed by the fascists, Professor Yagihara and the members of the Faculty of Law resign from their positions and Noge is arrested. Five years later, Noge visits Professor Yagihara and his family under the custody of the now Prosecutor Itokawa and tells them that he is going to China. Yukie decides to move alone to Tokyo and years later, she meets Itokawa in Tokyo and tells her that Noge is living in Tokyo. Yukie visits Noge and they become lovers. In 1941, Noge is arrested accused of being the ringleader of a spy network and Yukie is also sent to prison. When she is released, she decides to move to the peasant village where Noge's parents live and are blamed of being spies by the villagers. She changes her lifestyle and works hard with Madame Noge ...

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Plot Keywords:

professor | students | japanese nationalism | anti war | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming in 1946, just after the war, many of the cast and crew were living very poor lives, going hungry quite often. One of the actors recalled a personal story of his stomach growling during filming, causing the scene to have to be shot again.

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Quotes

Yukie Yagihara: Listen, Itokawa. Sit down. Kowtow and apologize to me.
Itokawa: Why?
Yukie Yagihara: No questions! Do it. Please do. Do it now! Quickly. Quickly. Do it now! Quickly. Quickly.
[Itokawa starts to bow]
Yukie Yagihara: What are you doing? Don't do it. Forget it. Forget it.

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Connections

Featured in Century of Cinema: 100 Years of Japanese Cinema (1995)

User Reviews

Heartfelt story of Personal Courage

The technical aspects of the film are very good. The camera used in this film uses abnormally slow shutter speeds causing the most slight (yet noticeable) distortions in movement, lending to the film a certain artistic sense that others do not have. It gives almost an eerie sense to it, and often times it seems to be somewhat drab, however: it seems to add very much to the mood of the story.

In addition to the artistic filming itself, the script truly drives the story and leads us to believe more of what Akira Kurosawa believed -- anti-Fascism, anti-Militarism, through the portrayal of events concerning Japanese imperial rule in the film. Through the eyes of Yukie we learn what it is like to be oppressed, and we learn the strength of the human spirit in its' resolute resistance to the militarism and fascism of her day; the power of the will is truly highlighted in this film, and the persistent commitment to doing good (similar to that portrayed by Watanabe in Ikiru) is very present.

The flashbacks to youth, the conjuring of memories, and the portrayal of the good times right next to the bad times, and the depth of human emotion that is revealed truly makes this film something worth watching. Some of the emotionality of the scenes (especially Yukie's emotional moments) portrays the existential angst that we all have, and her strength & perseverance represent everything we would like to have. It was a truly impacting story.

I was especially keen on the ability of Akira Kurosawa to take some of the most inward, personal moments of extreme sadness and put them into the film and, without any seeming prior explanation, the viewer is able to relate in their own way. This film highlights a philosophy of oneself against the world, and the importance of being true to one self. The message was portrayed very clearly and the end result is a masterpiece of Cinema that is greatly overlooked.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

No Regrets for Our Youth

Filming Locations:

Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (processed by Toho Film Labortory)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1