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After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.

本片是山中貞雄的遺作，也是他的“時代劇的庶民電影”的代表作之一。他在片中吸取了美國電影和法國電影的影響，並受到摯友兼老師小津安二郎的“小庶民電影 ”美學影響，將歷史上江戶時代的小人物形像注入現代庶民的語言、性格、行止、靈魂，成就了一部難得的社會現實主義的佳作。故事發生於十八世紀德川幕府時代，以悲涼調子訴說德川幕府時期低下層的生活，開頭與結尾都是自殺場景，映照出舊時日本社會草根階層的悲哀。另外，山中的剪輯流暢自如，視覺風格鋒如日本繪畫，演員表演也很自然。此片公認為山中最好的作品，也是他僅存的三部電影之一。
Humanity and Paper Balloons,unlike most other Japanese films of this period,is a historical film with a critical edge.Refusing to glorify samurai,the film insteaddeflates the myth around them with a gentle humanity. The film opens directly after a penurious ronin samurai has taken his own life.At his funeral his neighbors from his slum mourn his death. Here the film introduces another ronin samurai who lives in equal poverty. Having pawned his sword for food,the samurai searches for work but to no avail. The family's only income comes from the little balloon children's toys made by the wife.Out of desperation,the samurai abets in an attempted kidnapping. After finding out,the wife kills him in his sleep and then takes her own life, closing the film's narrative circle.
Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide.

莫里斯·皮亚拉70年代初筹拍的7集电视剧，但却为他赢得甚至比电影更高的评价。影评人将它与法施宾德的《柏林亚历山大广场》相提并论。故事讲述一战时期，一个猎场看守人收养了一个小男孩，战争逼近，他们必须在森林里躲避战火。

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

1932 film by Yasujiro Ozu

1951 film by Akira Kurosawa

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black single mother, who becomes her maid.

The Impossible Voyage (Voyage à travers l'impossible) is a 1904 silent film (produced by Star Film, France) by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. The film's time is about 20 minutes (nearly five times the length of the average film at that time), and probably was inspired by Melies' successful earlier film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). It is loosely based on Jules Verne's play Voyage à travers l'impossible. Like most of Méliès' films at this time, it made use of narrative, models, and trick photography.

1950 film by Nicholas Ray

Kyiv, 1929. Shots of the city as it wakes up... its awakening echoes with the lyrical pictures of the rebirth of nature. Kaufman’s attentive camera pauses for a long time on the smiling faces of children, painting a lyrical picture, a confession of love for Kyiv.

Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.

1913 film by Victor Sjöström

1958 film by Roberto Rossellini

Vietnamese children collect coins that are thrown them by two aristocratic ladies.

A dying businessman intends to will ¥200 million to his three illegitimate children, but his associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.

An actress’s perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.

A Japanese woman writes down three stories she has witnessed or heard of in her diary, each about the difficult situation a young woman finds herself in.

1963 film by Shōhei Imamura

1964 film by Shōhei Imamura