Port of Flowers a.k.a. Blossoming Port

With a substantial budget and a recognized cast, Kinoshita’s debut feature heralded the arrival of  a major talent, as he deftly spins a droll comedy about a pair of misfit con men who try to defraud the residents of Kyushu port town. Posing as heirs to a defunct shipyard, they convince the townsfolk to help them re-build the business, but the city slicker façade starts to fade when one of them falls in love with a local girl. Port of Flowers can be seen as a virtual laboratory for so much of Kinoshita’s later work, as so many of his themes—the presence of comedy in the most unlikely situations, his overall faith in humanity’s goodness—are very much on display.