A Mother Should Be Loved (“Haha wo kowazuya”)
Directed by Yasujirô Ozu
1934/Japan
Shôchiku Eiga
First viewing

Sadao (to his younger brother): I don’t see how you can get worked up by a mother like her.

Sadao and Kuosaku lose their father when they are children.  Unbeknownst to Sadao, the father’s wife is not his real mother but his stepmother.  The mother makes a vow to treat the boys the same and conceals the truth from Sadao.  When Sadao enters university, he finds out and takes it very badly.  His main complaint seems to be that the mother treats him better than his brother, her real son!

The first and last reels of this silent film have been lost and are substituted by a textual explanation.  The other problem with the version I watched was that it was totally silent.  Nevertheless, I became interested in the story.  I guess in every time and culture children will be jerks and say thoughtless things to make their mothers cry.  And their mothers will forgive them.