Imamura's answer to the "suffering women" films of Mizoguchi and Naruse presents a protagonist who suffers, but is far from helpless. Imamura's stance is detached, making Tome neither a victim nor a heroine, just a woman trapped by circumstance. Because the film covers so much ground, it does feel much longer than its 2 hours, and the attempts to make connections to larger historical events don't really work. Other than that, it's an intriguing work.