Where Chimneys Are Seen

Heinosuke Gosho's 1953 film, Where The Chimneys Are Seen, a family drama, has an impressive cast. Ken Uehara (Ryuichi) and Kinuyo Tanaka (Hiroko) star as a newly wed couple struggling to get by. They are renting rooms upstairs out to an unmarried younger couple, Senko (Hideko Takamine) and Kenzo (Hiroshi Akutagawa) living separately. They live on the outskirts of Tokyo near Ueno, which has some　prominent location shots at eh famed lily pond near the zoo and the statue of Saigo Takamori. All of the main characters have some issues to deal with. Ryuichi's salary isn't enough for them to live on, so they are putting off children until they are more stable and Hiroko has picked up a part-time job at the local velodrome. And she was previously married, but seems happy with Ryuichi. Senko is considering marrying Kenzo, but is reluctant to to become attach to him due to war time tragedies she has faced. Kenzo doesn't like his job collecting taxes from late paying citizens who can barely afford to continue. The house upturned when it is learned that Hiroko's former husband has survived the bombing of Tokyo and has left behind the baby of his recent wife. The crying baby upsets the household and they struggle with how to solve this new problem. It is a paean to the postwar troubles faced by many in Japan as the country rebuilds itself and people try to create new lives in the ashes of the war. Gosho finds a way to end on a positive note giving the viewer hope in the future. This may be Gosho's masterpiece.