I interpret this film as a slow, meditative thesis on the wabi-sabi of generational change. Like the fleeting cherry blossoms, the Japanese have reverence and respect for impermanence and imperfection. In the middle of the film, we heard an older man ask "How will our young find someone to marry (if the railroad is not built)?" Everyone is aware of the traditional village dissolving, yet only Kozo is unable to live with this. He disappears. Yasuyo moves away taking Machiko with her. Eisuke, who was, and still is, afraid of the ghosts in the tunnel (the past?) decides to remain in the village, p... read the rest.