Directed by Mikio Naruse • 1952 • Japan
Starring Kinuyo Tanaka, Kyoko Kagawa, Eiji Okada

Rather more upbeat (and at times even lighthearted) than the transcendentally tragic melodramas he is best known for, Mikio Naruse’s bittersweet family portrait features a quietly masterful performance from Kinuyo Tanaka (who later became a great director in her own right) as a fiercely resourceful mother in postwar Japan weathering everyday hardships as she works to provide a decent life for her four children. Told from the point of view of the family’s teenage daughter (Kyoko Kagawa), MOTHER offers a convincingly realistic evocation of a young woman’s perspective as she experiences joy and heartbreak in equal measure.