One of
Yasujiro Ozu's early masterworks, it concerns an actor, Kihachi (Takeshi Sakomoto) leading a struggling theater troupe who returns to the provincial town where he fathered a child years before. He seeks out his son, now a young man, and the woman who bore him, spending a great deal of time with them. To avoid angering his mistress Otaka (Rieko Yagumo), and to protect himself, he pretends to the young man that he is his uncle. Nonetheless, Otaka eventually learns the truth and persuades one of the company's ingénues to seduce the boy, hoping to hurt him and his father indirectly. Her plan backfires when the two fall in love, and the troupe, which is already on the brink of failure, is forced to disband. At length, Kihachi realizes he must move on and returns to Otaka. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide