"They didn't hold hands, but they desperately wanted to."

I just love Hideko Takemine in this film. She plays Mariko, the plucky younger Munekata sister who likes baseball more than temples, sticks her tongue out when she hears something she doesn't like, smokes from time to time, and speaks her mind freely about things she's frustrated with. She represents shifting cultural values and a more outspoken generation of younger women, which was really nice to see, particularly as it gave such life to this film.

Her older sister is Setsuko (Kinuyo Tanaka), who is devoted to her husband (So Yamamura) despite the fact that he's a lazy, unemployed drunk. She runs a bar, but is struggling to stay afloat financially, and moreover, has discovered that her father (Chishu Ryu) has less than a year to live. She was actually romantically interested in another man 15 years previously, Hiroshi (Ken Uehara), but only realized the depth of feelings when she got engaged, and he'd already gone away to France.

Well, Hiroshi is now back, which sets in motion a melodrama, as Mariko begins developing feelings for him, Setsuko's husband begins suspecting that his wife may be having an affair with him, and there is a third woman in the picture as well, a friend he made while in France (Sanae Takasugi). Having read her sister's old diary, Mariko would actually love for Setsuko and Hiroshi to be together, but can't help herself from playfully flirting with him too (and at one point, outright proposing to him, I mean, how the hell did he resist that?). Meanwhile, the husband is quite a tool, coolly (and unfairly) judging his wife while stroking a cat, and slapping her hard across the face seven times in case we couldn't hate him more.

It's often difficult to arrive at a satisfactory ending in such film, as emotionally we know what we want, but that path could be viewed as formulaic and not very artistic. I have to say, the route Ozu chose here wasn't very satisfying to me either, and I was almost tempted to reduce my review score, but had enjoyed it up until that point.

Some of the better scenes are when the sisters debate one another, even if it is expository, such as when Mariko questions her sister's marriage and Setsuko replies, "You're too young ... to understand marriage. It's not always a good time. Holding back is what keeps us going. That's how it is," to which Mariko says bluntly, "Then marriage is stupid." After Mariko has referred to her as outdated, Setsuko chastises her: "What doesn't become outdated is up-to-date. Things that are truly up-to-date are those that never get old. ... Your idea of up-to-date is skirt lengths going from long to short. If everyone has red nails, yours absolutely must be red too, no?"

With the ensuing tolerant fatherly advice for both young women to be themselves and how Setsuko's husband ultimately treats her, it seems there is a progressive message here, which I really enjoyed seeing from Ozu. Through signs we often see in English, including one for Coca Cola, he's reminding us of a changing world in Japan, but seeming to say that somehow it's going to be alright. Meanwhile in transitions between scenes, he gives us beautifully composed images, like clouds floating over hills or trains trundling by, the world impassive to the drama of these little lives.

It's Takemine's film, however. Her character is full of vitality, at times pretending to be a pompous narrator of romantic scenes, acting as a ballerina she's just seen, giving birdcalls to a nightingale with her father, or dancing around the room after tricking the other woman into thinking Hiroshi's left. She's played beautifully played by Takemine, who I'd watch in just about anything.

MILD SPOILERS

This is Ozu's first film produced outside Shochiku. That might the reason why the story is rather unconventional for an Ozu's film, too melodramatic and romantic (rather sickly is Mariko's insistence on marrying Hiroshi and asking her sister to divorce her husband). Also, never before or after generational differences have been so overtly exposed as well as there are too many, for an Ozu film, references to the war. Ryu , playing the sister's father, acts as a mediator (Ozu's alter-ego?) between the two, and tries to be just, even though his preferences are for old Japan. Whoever believes that Ozu's films philosophy isn't essentially Buddhist should pay more attention to Ryu's words of accepting different ways of life and Tanaka final's refusal to marry Uehara (sign of transcending the material world and personal desires or just pure old fashion?) and the ultimate death of Yamamura right after he gets his long sought job (Karma in action). Takamine Hideko ( a Naruse's regular) ,playing the role of Munekata Mariko, is extremely funny at some points. Her outrageous (specially when she visits Hiroshi 's girlfriend Yoriko or her habit of sticking out her tongue, bodily ticks are essential elements of the characterisation of Ozu's film actors) behaviour reminded me of my shock when I first saw I Was Born But… Nevertheless her character gets a bit boring with her parody of some sort of Noh narrator (the joke just goes for too long). Also Setsuko Munekata might not be a suitable role for Tanaka Kinuyo, in particular when she's got to keep smiling (something typical in actresses working with Ozu) while telling her sister that she decided not to marry Hiroshi. Technically is what you'd expect from Ozu, interesting matching cuts, even though I have to say that some shots were very predictable (cut on action shots) and not as perfect as for example the ones in Tokyo Story (technically an almost perfect film). Quite unusual for Ozu's work, at least during this period, are some tracking shots of Hiroshi and Setsuko walking down the street ending in a beautiful long shot of her disappearing around a corner. Specially weird is an unmotivated tracking shot to the right, moving away from the sisters at the entrance of a Kyoto temple that essentially goes nowhere and then stops suddenly, the image framed by two trees . What I found really amusing was(probably an Ozu's trick to confuse audiences) the way in which the film begins with news of the sisters' father (played by Chisu Ryu) diagnosed with cancer. Given only 6 months of life, nevertheless he remains alive and kicking throughout the whole film with no signs of departing this world. Funnily enough is somebody else who dies first. Also the way in which ends, when everybody was hoping for a final reunion between Uherara and Tanaka she decides to dump him, and so breaking any expectations. I thought it was brilliant (a bit reactionary though).

The Munekata Sisters might not be the very best of Ozu but I found it intriguing and funny enough to watch again.