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"[Hara's] rejection of the class and gender roles assigned to her and her transformation from genteel, middle-class young girl to uninhibited woman are at the heart of this remarkable film." – Village Voice
After a professor is fired for speaking out against the growing authoritarianism of 1930s Japan, his daughter becomes enamoured with a student activist. In an environment where militarism is rife and dissent is punishable by death, she must choose whether to leave her affluent upbringing, and political innocence, behind.
Akira Kurosawa rarely cast women as leads, but No Regrets for Our Youth is a notable exception: a film that pivots on a brilliant performance by Setsuko Hara in her first post-war role. A melodrama par excellence, it is also a showcase for some of Kurosawa's more experimental tendencies, with ambitious visuals complementing a fiercely anti-war narrative.
"Amongst the most fascinating of [Kurosawa]'s early works … a glimpse into the evolution of his creative style." – Senses of Cinema
Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation
