Daughters, Wives and a Mother

The central character is Setsuko Hara — a poised middle-aged woman, whose wealthy (and prestigious) husband dies at the outset of the action, leaving her widowed but holding the proceeds of a million yen insurance policy. Being childless, her former in-laws have no objection to her return to her own family.

Although Hara’s widowed mother is still alive (living in a wonderfully large house on the outskirts of Tokyo), the household is dominated by the eldest son of the family (Masayuki Mori). His wife (played by an unusually subdued Hideko Takamine) is generally well-meaning but too self-effacing (her only strong admonitions are to urge her husband to loan money to her uncle’s troubled business). Also in the house are a couple of children and one of Hara’s little sisters (played by the irrepressible Reiko Dan). There are two other married siblings not in residence — a sister (living with hen-pecked husband Tatsuya Nakadai and his dragon-lady mother Haruko Sugimura) and a little brother (an advertising photographer).

Hara insists on moving into the smallest room in the house (the former maid’s room) and paying disproportionate rent — and she lets her siblings persuade her to lend them most of her insurance money. Meanwhile, a matchmaking family friend is trying to arrange a re-marriage with a well-off, well-born older man (harmlessly dotty and with no sex appeal — played by an unusually funny Ken Uehara). Hara is not, however, disturbed by any of this. At first, numb and oblivious, her life takes a radical turn when she goes on an excursion with her little brother (and his wife) to the vinery of a client. The heir of this thriving family business (Tatsuya Nakadai) is immediately smitten by Hara — and she with him (despite being more than 10 years older than he is).

As Hara’s would-be swain takes to making more frequent visits to Tokyo (and actually kissing Hara — on the lips), the business belonging to “Uncle” (played by an increasingly seedy Daisuke Kato) is going down the tubes fast, Haruko Sugimura is demanding that she be put in an old people’s home (after her son and daughter in law suggest they want to move into their own apartment), and her little brother’s wife takes off (putting him in his place after some misbehavior by taking a long trip on her own — and letting his stew). Then the house of cards falls down — Kato’s business goes bust — and it turns out Mori has mortgaged (without permission) the jointly-owned family home and invested the money in the failed business (along with half of Hara’s insurance proceeds).

Hara decides to marry the noble ninny (Uehara) after all — as he has promised to let her mother stay with them (he’s an orphan, after all). But now, she needs to break up with Nakadai. As it turns out, Hara’s mother can’t bear the thought of moving into the kind of ritzy milieu that Hara will be living in — and plans to move into an old people’s home (since her son and daughter will be moving into a tiny house — after the looming sale of the family home). Takamine finally comes into her own — intercepting the letter, and convincing both Hara and her mother-in-law that the mother should come live with her family, to help make amends for their past bad behavior. —IMDb