Late Chrysanthemums is a film of unbridled riches, so it’s only appropriate that it contains two of Mikio Naruse’s typically superb climaxes.
Also known as Her Lonely Lane, A Wanderer’s Notebook is director Mikio Naruse’s hollow biopic of authoress Fumiko Hayashi, whose work the director often adapted for the screen.
The climactic confrontation illustrates Mikio Naruse’s talent for concluding his films on an ideal, though rarely contented, final note.
The day-to-day actions of a Mikio Naruse character are typically mundane and repetitious to the point of none-too-subtly cloaked disdain.
The film is a loving portrait of a woman tragically caught between her wants and her responsibilities.