The Actress and the Poet

A couple learns that even if she pays the rent, things work better if he's still the master of the house (which means: he gets to sleep in while she prepares breakfast). Starts slow, but eventually picks up. Early evidence for the thesis that Japanese movies contain far more train shots per film than any other national cinema, beginning here with the opening frames. First time I've ever seen a couple's double suicide used as a comedic device, but maybe that's a Japanese quirk too.

There are a few humorous bits in this but I found it too meandering and overall dull to be fully entertaining.

A light comedy from Mikio Naruse which started so easy going that I didn't think I'd like it, but things picked up nicely with clever little marriage problems building up with us and their neighbors as spectators until the big blow-up! So while it's a lesser Naruse, it manages to become a funny little movie.