When watching this, a few things struck me.
I could not help noticing that a lot of the shots were wildly out of focus, so some bad cinematography there, even for its time. At the same time, some of the exterior shots reminded me of Ozu or Naruse in their composition.
Ultimately though, films are about stories and the characters that play a role in them. This movie offers a simple but effective story and complicated characters, which makes for great viewing. Nothing is black and white for the main characters and some supporting characters are also fleshed out in a true-to-life manner.
At well over 2 hours it felt somewhat lacking in pace at times, but wait a second, this movie is almost 80 years old! Taking this into consideration I can only say it's absolutely masterful.
I could not help noticing that a lot of the shots were wildly out of focus, so some bad cinematography there, even for its time. At the same time, some of the exterior shots reminded me of Ozu or Naruse in their composition.
Ultimately though, films are about stories and the characters that play a role in them. This movie offers a simple but effective story and complicated characters, which makes for great viewing. Nothing is black and white for the main characters and some supporting characters are also fleshed out in a true-to-life manner.
At well over 2 hours it felt somewhat lacking in pace at times, but wait a second, this movie is almost 80 years old! Taking this into consideration I can only say it's absolutely masterful.