Film review: Dawn of a Filmmaker looks back at director Keisuke Kinoshita's life

Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story
Starring: Ryo Kase, Yuko Tanaka, Gaku Hamada, Yusuke Santamaria
Director: Keiichi Hara
Category: I (Japanese)

The title of this Keiichi Hara film makes it sound like a documentary, but it's actually a drama covering a key period in the life of director Keisuke Kinoshita (1912-1998). Kinoshita made his share of cinematic gems, many of which can be glimpsed in Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story.

The film begins with the screening on a beach of footage from Kinoshita's directorial debut Port of Flowers - a comedy he made in 1943.

But it places much more significance on The Army, the director's 1944 drama that incurred the wrath of the authorities due to a climactic scene which shows a mother crying as she sends her son off to war.

After his studio is forced to cancel work on his next film, an upset Kinoshita (Ryo Kase) heads back to his family, whose home has been destroyed by a bombing raid.

Shortly after the frustrated young man reunites with his folks, it's decided that the family - including his bed-ridden mother Tama (Yuko Tanaka) - should move further inland to a town beyond a mountain.