A heartfelt portrait of post-war struggles from Akira Kurosawa, about a young couple that finds it hard to survive the weekend with the paltry scraps in their pockets. Kurosawa’s admiration for Italian Neo-Realism, especially “Bicycle Thieves”, would reach its peak with this lesser known gem and the following year’s “Drunken Angel”, utilizing war-torn backdrops for emotional and symbolic effect, and even though the story gives way to fantasy near the end (prompting some critics to dub it “Capra-esque”), like De Sica would do in “Miracle in Milan”, the devastating poorness of the two characters (memorably played by Isao Numasaki and Chieko Nakakita), who can barely afford a few rice balls for lunch, is both touching and an important commentary on the slowness of Japan’s post-war economic recovery.