Although he was a member of the Japanese Communist Party, Imai did not press its ideology; instead, he delved into social issues such as war, discrimination and poverty, and beautifully filmed the weak at the mercy of these conditions with compassion.
今井は共産党員ながらもイデオロギーを尖鋭に推したてることはせず、戦争や差別や貧困など社会的テーマを掘り下げ、それに翻弄される弱者の姿を同情を込めて美しく描いた。