Nomura Hotei, who died the same year this film came out, directed some 73 movies between 1921 - 1934. This means he worked at a pace of roughly 5.6 films per year. So probably not an auteur kind of guy. But you never know.
This is Nomura's fourth-to-last film, a Shochiku production with plenty of familiar actors from Tanaka Kinuyo to Sakamoto Takeshi, and so on. Apparently Nomura had some rep, since this is not only a sound film, but a massive one at that. This film is over two hours, and that definitely was not the norm back in the day. The duration is surprising, since the melodramatic narrative really doesn't have much to warrant it. This is a love story, clearly for a female audience, about a young student and his girl. The student has problems with his conservative teacher and the girl tries her best to support him. There also a kind of romantic triangle.
Besides few funny moments early on, this is a serious drama. Lot of sad moments occur, that should make us feel for the characters. But there is a problem. The women in this film like to cry. Not sometimes, but towards the end nearly every scene. After you have witnessed over ten scenes within half an hour that feature women sobbing, you gradually start to feel amused. I usually like Japanese weepies of the 1930's, but this is farcical. It is so over the top, that you can no longer relate to the people, and the very talented actors of the film don't get to shine, because the screenplay is constantly embarrassing them in front of the audience. Stop your sobbing!
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