Mr. Thank You

Why does the driver of a bus winding out of the mountains of Izu thank every cart, walker and passing traveler that gives way to him? In Hiroshi Shimizu's film, Mr. Thank You (Ken Uehara) carries a mixed load of passengers toward Tokyo, among them a woman in a black collar (Michiko Kuwano) and a peddler (Einosuke Naka). Depression-era Japan sits just outside the windows, and Uehara's driver greets every bit of it with the same steady courtesy.