Very subtle i e Japanese examination of what a mother/actress is capable of sacrificing in the way of familial/other relationships in the name of art. A life balance is achieved, but we are left with an uneasy feeling that the price has been uncomfortably high somewhere along the line. Splendidly acted and very engaging film which would benefit from a second viewing, if only one wanted to suffer further reservations about the moral ambiguity of it all.