mikio naruse examination of the life of three idle and constantly complain and single ex geisha in post war japan be a wonderful character piece . they use to be friend in the old day but now their relationship be strain because one of the woman have become a successful moneylender and the other two owe her . although the moneylender be the only one who have become successful in this rebuild economy and she be the only one of the three that have no child . the other two each have a child whom they depend upon for income and because neither of them work . complication ensue when the kid decide to get married ( though not to each other ) and leave home . this lead to the bitter and grumble old woman to become even more bitter and grumbling and get drunk and bemoan their rotten child and inconsiderate friend the moneylender . meanwhile the moneylender be herself unhappy and despite her fortune . she have no one besides her young deaf maid to keep her company and chance encounter with two former lover from her geisha day lead nowhere all they really want be to borrow money from her . the three character be all neck deep in the quicksand of their own bore life and be too weary to struggle much and usually opt instead to resign themselves to the futility of it all or and at the very most and toss complaint back and forth to each other . late chrysanthemum be very slow moving and not much actually happen but naruse and like all great director and have the ability to do much with very little . i haven not see much of his work but i suspect that this isn not his best and even though it be very good . the problem and i think and be that it all doesn not seem to amount to much . but the film be full of good point . although it be cynical and it isn not overly so . naruse seem to sympathize with his desperate character and and he paint vivid portrait that make the character seem even somewhat noble in the squalor of their self make misery . while the film isn not a must see and it be important a a fragment of the work of a great little know ( outside of his own country ) director and precious little of which be available on video here in the u. s .