Spring in a Small Town
Director: Fei Mu
Year Released: 1948
Rating: 3.0
A sickly man (he has tuberculosis), his bored wife and teenage sister live in a small house and live a simple life, but when the sickly man's old friend, a free-spirited doctor, arrives, it turns out the doctor and the wife have a bit of a past and unresolved feelings for each other. It is beautifully simple - if a tad mechanical (I'm mixed on Wei Wei's performance) - and refreshingly mature, as the husband realizes he's not the best match for his wife and that their marriage isn't what he hoped it would be and that his wife might be happy with her old flame. It's as elegant and understated as the best films from Ozu; the need for compassion and personal responsibility win in the end.
