Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi's war with 'the system'

A Second Look: A four-film box set samples work by a clear-eyed social critic who turned his worldview into a statement of defiance, not defeat. World War II and its aftermath loom large in the endlessly rich expanse of 20th century Japanese cinema. But no major Japanese director was as visibly affected by this defining trauma as Masaki Kobayashi (1916-96).