There are some beautiful moments, striking techniques, and nice commentary on family that's enhanced by the economic element. In general it's not a bad movie, but there are some issues. Naruse goes way, way overboard on the zooms and dolly-ins, to the point of distraction. The film's structure is sloppy and often a bit confusing. The girl says things that a 7 year-old wouldn't be sophisticated enough to say. And it's kind of repetitive. I'm calling this one a near-miss.

Ozu would have made it a masterpiece.

It's interesting for its stylistic quirks --an avalanche of zooms into the face, lack of establishing shots (which causes jarring scene transitions), and the climactic ellipses. I may be talking out of my ass here, but my impression is that Naruse was still trying stuff out. The climax, with its flurry of zooms, felt forced.