昭和三年，大石久子被派任到小豆島海岬旁的小型分校場任教，十二張純真無邪的臉龐，二十四隻閃爍的眼睛，照亮她教育的熱情。可惜島上的平靜時光沒有維持太久，殘酷的經濟蕭條、血腥的軍國主義，一步步逼近孩子們，童年的歌聲淹沒在響徹雲霄的軍號裡，年輕的生命被推向無情的戰場，無能為力的大石老師只能默默承受一次又一次的別離。

改編自壺井榮的著名小說，抒情大師木下惠介巧藉柔性觀點傳達反戰思想，娓娓道來軍國主義對平民生活如何戕害，插曲〈青青樹校〉傳唱至今歷久不衰，片中師生互動真情流露，日本「國民女優」高峰秀子對於女主角橫跨二十載心境起伏的細膩詮釋，令此片征服不同世代國籍，觀者無不感動落淚。本片堪稱日本影史最重要的反戰名作，在2009 年電影旬報創刊90週年所舉辦的映畫遺産200佳評選中，超越《羅生門》高踞第六名。

In 1928, a new teacher arrives in a small seaside town. Progressive and open-minded, she attempts to instill those same values in her students, even as the dark clouds of Japanese militarism start to affect so many aspects of daily life. The film follows the teacher and her charges (the “twenty-four eyes” who were her students) for 24 years, into the postwar era, chronicling their struggles, joys, sorrows, and hopes for the future.