The Ball at the Anjo House

This was a great look at how the bourgeois deal with the same situations as everyday people who face reality. The family feel self-assured and almost cocky that nothing is going to take away what they feel is their worth, but very soon it becomes apparent that the foundation to their wealth (and what they consider happiness) is weak and footed in imbalance. Yoshimura portrays a shift in post-war society, from the old realist regime to a new liberal dismantlement of the old. While films of the time reflected the underdog's role in a settling after war, the flipping of the script allows us to see the rich as human and personable, who can suffer just as much, but ultimately are still privileged above those of the underclass.

The film is just as much a vehicle for Setsuko Hara as it is for the directorial elegance of Yoshimura, bringing along a naivety evident in her Ozu roles. She appears to be the only character with a level-headed approach to her family's situation, attaining a level of strength above the men she is surrounded with. Overall, it's entertaining and drenched in allegory while also sustaining a dramatic lightness that makes it endearing.