Ai Sureba Koso

Ai Sureba Koso

1955
1h 24min

The film consists of three short stories. Tomiko, the heroine of the first story, "The Flower Girl" (dir. Kozaburo Yoshimura), is a little girl who bears the unbearable burden of caring for her family. Tomiko's father has been unable to find work for a long time, and her older sister is terminally ill—it is unlikely that she will ever recover. To feed her family, Tomiko runs around the city from morning until late at night selling flowers... The second novella (dir. Tadashi Imai) also depicts the lives of the poor. An unfamiliar girl brings young Kavano a letter from his mother. It turns out that the girl's name is Kuniko, she is very hardworking, but her family is dying of hunger. Therefore, her mother decided to send Kuniko to her son so that he would marry her. The short story is called "The Unexpected Bride." The third short story, which gave the film its title, is particularly interesting: "When You Love" (dir. Satsuo Yamamoto). It shows the family of a young peace activist.

Ai Sureba Koso

Storyline

The film consists of three short stories. Tomiko, the heroine of the first story, "The Flower Girl" (dir. Kozaburo Yoshimura), is a little girl who bears the unbearable burden of caring for her family. Tomiko's father has been unable to find work for a long time, and her older sister is terminally ill—it is unlikely that she will ever recover. To feed her family, Tomiko runs around the city from morning until late at night selling flowers... The second novella (dir. Tadashi Imai) also depicts the lives of the poor. An unfamiliar girl brings young Kavano a letter from his mother. It turns out that the girl's name is Kuniko, she is very hardworking, but her family is dying of hunger. Therefore, her mother decided to send Kuniko to her son so that he would marry her. The short story is called "The Unexpected Bride." The third short story, which gave the film its title, is particularly interesting: "When You Love" (dir. Satsuo Yamamoto). It shows the family of a young peace activist.
Cast
Nobuko Otowa
Nobuko Otowa
Michie (segment 1)
Yoshiko Machida
Tamiko (segment 1)
Taketoshi Naitō
Taketoshi Naitō
Kôno (segment 2)
Kyōko Kagawa
Kyōko Kagawa
Kuniko (segment 2)
Isuzu Yamada
Isuzu Yamada
Yaeko (segment 3)
Sō Yamamura
Sō Yamamura
Gorô (segment 3)
Taiji Tonoyama
Taiji Tonoyama
Bartender (segment 1)
Fudeko Tanaka
Fudeko Tanaka
Tamiko's mother (segment 1)
Takashi Kanda
Takashi Kanda
Master (segment 1)
Shinsuke Ashida
Shinsuke Ashida
Customer (segment 1)
Yasumi Hara
Yasumi Hara
Customer (segment 1)
Kunio Mita
Customer (segment 1)
Yasushi Nagata
Customer (segment 1)
Etsuji Oki
Etsuji Oki
Costomer (segment 1)
Yukiko Ieda
Hostess (segment 1)
Kaneko Ishii
Hostness (segment 1)
Satomi Hosono
Hostess (segment 1)
Toyo Takahashi
Toyo Takahashi
Concierge (segment 2)
Toshio Takahara
Toshio Takahara
Furuno (segment 2)
Katsuhiko Ide
Morikawa (segment 2)
Chieko Higashiyama
Chieko Higashiyama
Kuniko's mother (segment 2) (voice)
Eitarō Ozawa
Eitarō Ozawa
Kuniko's brother (segment 2) (voice)
Kei Taguchi
Kei Taguchi
Shigeru (segment 3)
Yoshiko Kuga
Yoshiko Kuga
Yumiko (segment 3)
Hatae Kishi
Hatae Kishi
Toshiko (segment 3)
Sanae Nakahara
Sanae Nakahara
Minako (segment 3)