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This story of real life artist Maud Lewis is brought to life by the amazing Sally Hawkins. Filmed in Atlantic Canada, this is a simple film about a life of someone who is disabled and not treated well by her own family who takes a job as a housekeeper for a local fishmonger, ably played by Ethan Hawke. The film is necessarily slow moving, but Ms. Hawkins, who has taken on her share of challenging roles, is compelling in nearly every scene. Her paintings are of things that she has remembered or experienced in her life and when she begins to get noticed outside the small community of Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, you cannot help but want for her to succeed. The setting is small town Canada and some of it is beautiful. It is a story of a simple life, lived by people who prefer their identity and way of being not be changed. Very worthwhile film.

as usual, Setsuko Hara lights up the screen in this drama, plays Takako, a student who lost her father. While at the graveside, she meets Ryukichi, played by Shin Saburi, who is a former student of Takako's father offers to have her live with him and his kids. Ryukichi's wife is ill and lives in a sanitarium. Takako becomes part of the family, caring for the kids and helping Ryukichi. The film's plot moves toward whether Takako and Ryukichi begin to have affection for each other, which of course complicates everything. While the film is a standard drama, Setsuko Hara is wonderful in it, displaying sadness, glee and other emotions extremely well. She at times looks beautiful in the film also, but it is the depths of her emotions that carry the film. This is not one of the best films she has been in (there are so many classics she was part of)but she was an extraordinary actress, always standing out in the films she has been in. She has been called the Katherine Hepburn of Japanese actresses, and that is a fairly accurate analogy, both of them were adept in different genres. Worth a look, but first check out her other amazing films first to get an immediate appreciation of her rare talent.

This film was contemporary at the time, as it involves resistance to the changes in the post war period. A young schoolgirl is seen spending time with an older boy and some of her classmates try to trick her by writing a note telling her to meet after school. The teacher Miss Shimazaki (the always great Setsuko Hara)calls the girls on their behavior. Basically, she states that it is okay for them to be with boys. The girls protest. Others are drawn in with their own opinions, including the local doctor, whose opinion has become more progressive as the film goes on. This is an interesting character study about a time when tradition was beginning to be challenged, even as it pertains to relationships. What seems quaint now was at the time very much a tug of war between people. Playing ostensibly a feminist, Ms. Hara is trying to get the girls to not just settle for a life where they will marry and eventually be miserable, since they will more or less be subservient to their husbands . In this context, the film triumphs, but it is a film of its time. Still, this film was made just before Late Spring, one of Ms. Hara's greatest films, in which she ironically plays the daughter of the great Chishu Ryu and is, in effect, a very traditional lady. Late Spring is an excellent character study of mores. This film tackles it in a different way. It is not as compelling as Late Spring, but it is certainly worth watching.