Anjô-ke no butôkai (1947)

After Japan's loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Kôzaburô Yoshimura

Writer:

Kaneto Shindô

Stars:

Osamu Takizawa, Masayuki Mori, Setsuko Hara

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Osamu Takizawa	...	Tadahiko, father
Masayuki Mori	...	Masahiko, 1st son
Setsuko Hara	...	Atsuko, 2nd daughter
Yumeko Aizome	...	Akiko, 1st daughter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shin'ichi Himori	...	Takehiko
Michiko Ikuno	...	Kiku, maid
Takashi Kanda	...	Toyama
Masao Shimizu	...	Shinkawa
Chieko Takehisa	...	Chiyo, Tadahiko's girlfriend
Keiko Tsushima	...	Yoko, Shinkawa's daughter

Storyline

After Japan's loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The seemingly cold, cynical son secretly grieves for his defeated father and the values that the war destroyed, while the daughter tries to prevent father from taking his life and to find her own place in the new Japan.

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Plot Keywords:

ball | mansion | dress | class society | driver | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Ball at the Anjo House

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku Ofuna

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was one of the ten favorite films of distinguished author and Japanese cinema fan Susan Sontag.

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Connections

Referenced in Nihon eiga no hyaku nen (1995)

User Reviews

Neglected Masterpiece

This shamefully neglected 1947 Japanese film will probably never be seen by most people. I was fortunate enough to catch it at a current Japanese film retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It does not appear to be available on video. This is a shame, because it is much better than many better known Japanese films. It concerns a family that was a member of the Japanese nobility. During the forced democratization that occurred during the post-WWII occupation, they are forced to give up not only their titles but most of their wealth and property as well. The film superbly illustrates the role of status in individual identity and the extent to which loss of status can cause identity to disintegrate. It reminds me somewhat of Renoir's "Grand Illusion," which is also about the passing of the old order. It forced us to ask whether the existence of a nobility was any worse than the piratic capitalists who followed them. See this if you can!