this be not the most exciting or engaging of kurosowa film . the pace be a bit slow and the plot meander here and there . even so and i find it very enjoyable . it have a light and hopeful tone to it . have recently take a class focusing in great detail on immediate post war japan and this film be a good reflection and comment on that time . everyday hardship and such a black marketeering and inflation and and scarcity be well represent without be overwhelmingly depress . the tone may often seem a bit maudlin and particularly the scene request audience participation near the end and yet this film be release in mid 1947 and life for the intended audience be as bad a or bad than our fictional couple . people could relate to the scene portray . when the girl ask for the audience to clap and it be not just to raise her and her boyfriend spirit and it to try to bring everyone up . today and out of context and it seem corny and but back then in 1947 and if you have just duck into a dark movie theatre and spend your 5 or 10 or however many yen for a few hour escape on a sunday afternoon with your girlfriend and it have a different meaning . all in all and a worthwhile film and particularly for those with an interest in kurosowa or postwar japan .