Twenty-Four Eyes: The Criterion Collection (DVD)

Synopsis

A marvelous film chronicling twenty years in the life of a young schoolteacher and her pupils on a remote Japanese island beginning in 1928. The "24 eyes" are her twelve 6-year-old pupils living in a quiet and peaceful Inland Sea village whose harmony is shattered by the war. The schoolteacher is forced to resign when books she believes are good for the children are rejected as "Red" literature. War sees most of the boys going off to fight and the girls living in poverty. Presented in a very simple and touching style, writer-director Keisuke Kinoshita goes all out to show how war affects those that are left behind. The long timeframe in which the film plays out adds to the cumulative power of the story.

Adapted from the novel by Sakae Tsuboi, TWENTY-FOUR EYES (Nijushi no hitomi - Japan) is an elegant, emotional chronicle of a teacher’s unwavering commitment to her students, her profession, and her sense of morality. Set in a remote, rural island community and spanning decades of Japanese history, from 1928 through World War II and beyond, Kinoshita’s film takes a simultaneously sober and sentimental look at the epic themes of aging, war, and death, all from the lovingly intimate perspective of Hisako Oshi (Hideko Takamine), as she watches her pupils grow and deal with life’s harsh realities. Though little known in the United States, Twenty-Four Eyes is one of Japan’s most popular and enduring classics.