Yearning

Is a 1964 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Hideko Takamine and Y?z? Kayama. The film is based on a story by Naruse, with the screenplay authored by Zenzo Matsuyama. 'Yearning' centers on war-widow Reiko Morita (Hideko Takamine), who has given her best years to her late husband's family while managing their grocery. The family plots to tear down the shop and build a supermarket in its place, pushing Reiko out of the top position. As with many Naruse films, the background to the film marks a significant point of social change, in this case the arrival of modern supermarkets with their inevitable effect of driving local family grocery stores out of business.