I'm slowly making my way through this series, and I feel that "Good Samaritan" was a big step up in quality from the previous movies. For instance, little touches in some of the train and bus scenes had a documentary feel that reminded me of Yamada's masterpieces "Where Spring Comes Late" and "Home From the Sea." And the relationship between Tora and his sister Sakura, especially in the latter half of the movie, reached a deeper level of emotional realism than ever before. Also, it's always a pleasure to see one of my favorite actors, Tanaka Kunie, grace the screen with his brilliantly earthy, twitchy, expressive acting, brief though his part may be.