Eburi is a 36 year-old man. Nothing enthuses him any more. While being drunk, he promises to contribute a story to a magazine. When he sobers down, he decides to write about the life of a salaried employee like himself who is very ordinary, not particularly talented.
The following is his story:
In 1949, Eburi gets married to Natsuko. His monthly salary is 8,000 yen and hers 4,000 yen. Therefore, both have to work to support themselves. Eburi has developed a habituIl tendency to pester around when he gets drunk. One year after their marriage, son Shosuke is born. In 1959, Eburi's mother dies in despair of her husband who has become listless due to the several ups and downs of gaining big profits and going bankrupt. His father is still alive and Eburi is enable to find a way to pay his father's debts. He is doubtful if he can make his wife and child happy. Nevertheless, he has somehow managed to survive so far, living in one of the houses at the employee housing quarters. He gives the title "The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman" to his story of half novel and half essay style. When it is published, it receives the Naoki Literary Prize (the award given in memory of popular writer Naoki Sanjugo). At a party to celebrate his award, he gets drunk and pesters around.
Notes
The film is based on a novel written in the style of an essay under the same title by Yamaguchi Hitomi, depicting everyday life of a man categorized as "During-the-war Generation" who spent school days during the war and get married to start new life in the struggling post-war era. "Everyman" in the title means an average salaried employee who makes up an overwhelming majority of the city population in Japan, and "The Elegant Life" indicates sarcasm on betterment of the standard of living of ordinary salaried employees accompanied with Japan's economic growth after only a decade from the destroyed post-war period. As depicted in the film, the author Yamaguchi Hitomi was awarded the Naoki Literature Prize for this story. When he established himself well enough to become independent, he quit working as a salaried employee. Director Okamoto Kihachi and the leading actor Kobayashi Keiju belong to the same generation as the author. Exploiting innovative effects such as inserting animation sequences, the film humorously presents compassion of a middle-aged salaried employee. Kobayashi Keiju, who was originally noted for his excellent portrayal of salaried employee, won the best leading actor award of the Mainichi Film Contest for his superb performance in this picture.。哈尼夫和伊斯蒂回到儿时的家后,却被帕克德的死讯给震惊了。帕克德的死显然给他们的家带来了一些黑暗的东西,现在哈尼夫和伊斯蒂必须揭开与他们的过去有关的秘密。。美国联邦调查局驻香港办事处负责人纳尔逊从手下监听到的电话里得到一份重要情报,一项印制假美元模具的交易即将开始。监听者是探员高雄。此时,高雄和他的拍档华克已初步查出一个叫洪宝的歹徒。继续调查时,华克以身殉职,高雄侥幸逃脱。为替华克报仇,高雄追击“新安帮”歹徒来到大陆,负责侦破的李警长和高雄接上了头。高雄因办案心切,独闯黑帮团伙被绑架,李警长及时赶到,抓获了歹徒。高雄经过数次碰壁,决定真心实意和李警长合作。李警长怀疑不时出现的神秘女郎叶君,和高雄定计探明她的身份。最后,高雄发现她是联邦调查局的人,受人指使来杀他。李警长又一次救了高雄,放走了叶君。李警长和高雄成了生死拍档,他们设计了一个圈套,诱使“新安帮”上当。在一场正义与邪恶的较量中,歹徒被公安干警一网打尽,纳尔逊的内奸面目也暴露出来,叶君在经历了生死搏斗后爱上高雄,但李警长却为掩护高雄,不幸中弹牺牲。。