The Portrait (1948)

"I wish I could paint myself over again"

Kurosawa Akira wrote the script for The Portrait and to quote Sally’s shocked line in When Harry Met Sally, “Well, that's just so optimistic of you, Harry”. Kurosawa wasn’t known for movies about women or stories this positive and heartwarming. The film was deftly directed by Kinoshita Keisuke with strong performances by the cast.

Kaneko and Tamai agree to purchase a house together for 200,000 yen and then flip it for 400,000 splitting the profits. The only problem is that there are tenants living in it. Kaneko decides to move his young mistress into the upper room which the family doesn’t fight. Midori is temperamental and not pleased with the move. The family occupying the house is poor but happy. The father, Nomura, is a painter of some renown but not terribly successful. The family automatically assumes that Midori is Kaneko’s daughter and treat her as a treasured guest. Midori isn’t used to positive affirmation and her guilt is made worse when Nomura asks her to sit for him. The woman revealed in the portrait is not who she believes she is.

Nomura with his magical artist’s eye saw deep into Midori, who she really was. This vision stood in stark contrast to who Midori believed she has become in order to survive after the war. The cognitive dissonance finally erupted as the young woman had to decide the person she would choose to be. Could she really paint herself all over again?

The family was almost too good to be true even seeing blackouts as a gift to dance in the moonlight. The one member who grasped that Midori was not Kaneka’s daughter cast no judgment, offering only acceptance. Kurosawa’s social commentary was muted but the blackouts were a bit of reality creeping in as well as the young women resorting to sleeping with old men to make a living. Nomura’s oldest son had been missing since the war with no word, as they hopefully awaited his return. Then of course, there were the realty vultures hoping to turn quick profits as they turned tenants out of their homes. The Nomura family’s impenetrable loving-kindness shield the only detriment to the current flippers’ plans.

The Portrait was a lovely little film showing a family’s and a young woman’s resiliency in the face of social upheaval and financial strain. Each person had to decide who they were and who they wanted to become, even when their options were few. And the greatest mystery of all, would Chiba the cat return home? An easy recommendation for people who enjoy these old films.

13 February 2026

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