Kihachi spends much of his time raising his son alone, but one day, he meets a girl named Harue, who has nobody to rely on. Deciding to place her under his friend Otome’s care, Kihachi’s continued contact spurs on his growing feelings of love for Harue, but she is attracted to another man. Kihachi’s son Tomio, suffering from bullies at his school, looks on in annoyance at his father’s struggle to win her favor. In his first collaboration with Ozu, Sakamoto Takeshi plays the widower, Kihachi, and would go on to play other father roles in A Story of Floating Weeds and An Inn at Tokyo. Passing Fancy reveals Ozu’s increasing skill at directing children. Actor Tokkan Kozo, the unforgettable rapscallion from I Was Born, But… is recast as Tomio and his interaction with Kihachi (Sakamoto) is terrifically wry, their father-son reversals handled with slapstick aplomb.
Pre-recorded musical accompaniment.
