Floating Clouds (1955)
"Ukigumo" (original title)

This film is based on flashbacks, which I'll ignore here for the sake of clarity. Married Japanese forester during WWII is sent to Indochina to manage forests... See full synopsis »

Director:

Mikio Naruse

Writers:

Fumiko Hayashi (novel), Yôko Mizuki (adaptation)

Stars:

Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada

9 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hideko Takamine	...	Yukiko Koda
Masayuki Mori	...	Kengo Tomioka
Mariko Okada	...	Sei Mukai
Isao Yamagata	...	Sugio Iba
Chieko Nakakita	...	Kuniko Tomioka
Daisuke Katô	...	Seikichi Mukai
Mayuri Mokusho	...	Nomiya no musume
Noriko Sengoku	...	Yakushima no okaasan
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Futsuin no shikensho-chou
Heihachirô Ôkawa	...	Isha
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Futsuin no shoin - Suitou
Roy James	...	American soldier (as Roi H. Jêmusu)
Kan Hayashi
Akira Tani	...	Shinja
Seijirô Onda

Storyline

This film is based on flashbacks, which I'll ignore here for the sake of clarity. Married Japanese forester during WWII is sent to Indochina to manage forests... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | forbidden love | bathing | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Floating Clouds

Filming Locations:

Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Third in the centenary poll by Kinema-Junpo magazine about all-time best Japanese films, Seven Samurai and Tokyo Story preceded it.

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Connections

References Going My Way (1944)

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: Floating Clouds

If you're looking for a movie that deals with clingy relationships, then Floating Clouds is without a doubt a movie that fits the bill to a T. Directed by Naruse Mikio and based upon the novel by Fumiko Hayashi, the female character in the movie will bring back memories of those who have had to deal with such stifling clinging, and well, for those who do act as such, a stark and accurate portrayal that would be akin to holding up a mirror and looking at oneself.

Hideko Takamine put up a commendable, if not personally what I deem as a remarkably irritating performance as Yukiko Koda, a woman perhaps with little self-esteem and respect, who decided to sacrifice an entire forest for one singular tree. Being sent to Indochina during WWII, she chances upon Kengo Tomioka (Masayuki Mori), and while he seemed to be prim and proper, and not giving her a second glance, soon they fall in love with each other, one despite having a wife back home, and the other, knowingly being the other woman.

But when the war ends and they get repatriated back to Japan, she looks him up, only to discover that he will not leave his wife, nor to rekindle their passion started in a foreign land. To make things worse, she discovers he's quite the cad, and to compound the problem, her insecurities and her paranoia makes you wonder why she can't afford to sever ties. It's one thing being made to suffer from unrequited love, but it's another if you are made to suffer deliberately, and bear witness to the insincerity of the other party. Running slightly over 2 hours, it does take its time to showcase the sorry state that Yukiko undergoes.

You can't really find fault with Naruse Mikio's direction of the movie

• the handling of the narrative structure in the first act was deft,

with the transition of time seamless, and the actors do their job to allow you to connect with their characters. However, like I mentioned, perhaps Yukiko Koda did such a fine job, that for me I found her to be a tad too irritating, even for my liking.