Affair in the Snow (1968) Plot Summary Explained

Yuriko planned to use the vacation as an opportunity to end her affair with Sugino. She traveled to Muroran specifically to have an abortion, believing she was pregnant with his child. This was her way of completely breaking ties with him before ending the relationship.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Yuriko openly states she intends to use the trip to end the affair, showing her determination to move on.

• yuriko
• muroran
• abortion
• ending affair
• pregnancy

At the clinic in Muroran, Yuriko learned that she was never actually pregnant. Her apparent pregnancy was a false pregnancy, which forced her to reconsider her entire plan to end the affair through this medical procedure.

• false pregnancy
• clinic
• muroran
• abortion

When Yuriko reunited with Sugino in Muroran, she confessed that she had once spent a night with Kazuo, a former close friend. She revealed that Kazuo was unable to make love to her during that night, adding complexity to the emotional stakes between all three characters.

• yuriko
• kazuo
• sugino
• confession
• night together

After the false pregnancy revelation and her reunion with Sugino, Yuriko initially intended to return to Sapporo. However, she instead changed direction and headed for Niseko, where all three characters would converge again, setting the stage for the film's final confrontations.

• yuriko
• niseko
• sapporo
• destination change

When all three met at the inn in Niseko, tensions erupted between the men over their conflicting relationships with Yuriko. Kazuo slapped Sugino during this confrontation, signaling the volatile dynamics and deep resentment between them.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Yuriko's confession about her night with Kazuo had already heightened the tension between the two men.

• kazuo
• sugino
• slap
• niseko
• confrontation

After the confrontation at the Niseko inn where Kazuo slapped him, Sugino stormed off and vanished into the surrounding heavy snow. Yuriko and Kazuo feared he might become lost in the harsh wintry landscape, highlighting the dangerous physical and emotional terrain of the story.

Foreshadowing: The confrontation at the inn serves as the immediate trigger for Sugino's reckless departure.

• sugino
• snow
• niseko
• disappearance
• lost

While searching for Sugino in the snow, Yuriko and Kazuo ended up spending the night together in a mountain hotel. This was the first time Kazuo was able to make love to her, marking a significant shift in their relationship and contrasting with Yuriko's earlier revelation that he couldn't perform before.

Foreshadowing: Yuriko had previously told Sugino that Kazuo was unable to make love to her during their one night together, making this moment a meaningful reversal.

• kazuo
• yuriko
• mountain hotel
• intimacy
• first time

When Yuriko and Kazuo eventually found Sugino, he was partying with three young women. Later, Sugino attempted to assault Yuriko but was unable to complete the act. He blamed Kazuo's presence for interrupting him, revealing his possessive and desperate nature despite Yuriko's attempts to leave him.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sugino had insisted that Yuriko stay with him and resisted her efforts to end the affair, showing his refusal to let go.

• sugino
• attempted rape
• yuriko
• blame
• kazuo

After Yuriko told Sugino definitively that their affair was over during their journey back from the mountains, Sugino jumped off a cliff. He later died from his wounds. This tragic act was the culmination of his emotional instability, possessiveness, and inability to accept the end of their relationship.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Sugino consistently resists Yuriko's attempts to end the affair, foreshadowing his desperate final act.

• sugino
• cliff
• suicide
• death
• end of affair

The film closes with Yuriko crying after witnessing Sugino's death. Her tears reflect the emotional devastation of the entire ordeal, the collapse of her relationships, the tragedy of Sugino's suicide, and the weight of the choices she made throughout the story.

• yuriko
• crying
• ending
• death
• emotional aftermath