Muddy River (1981)
"Doro no kawa" (original title)

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends. The two families' "businesses" are in fact dining and prostitution. When Nobou, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Kôhei Oguri

Writers:

Teru Miyamoto (novel), Takako Shigemori

Stars:

Takahiro Tamura, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Takahiro Tamura	...	Shinpei Itakura
Mariko Kaga	...	Shoko Matsumoto, Kiichi and Ginko's mother
Nobutaka Asahara	...	Nobuo Itakura
Makiko Shibata	...	Ginko Matsumoto
Minoru Sakurai	...	Kiichi Matsumoto
Yumiko Fujita	...	Sadako Itakura, Nobuo's mother
Gannosuke Ashiya	...	Shinoda, the horse cart man
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reiko Hatsune	...	Tabacco shop woman
Keizô Kani'e	...	Policeman
Yoshitaka Nishiyama	...	Warehouse guard
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Man on festival boat
Masako Yagi	...	Shinpei's first wife

Storyline

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends. The two families' "businesses" are in fact dining and prostitution. When Nobou, the restauranteur's son, loses his pocket money during the Tenjin Festival, Kiichi, the prostitute's boy, invites him home, and he learns the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

river | prostitution | death | growing up | veteran | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 January 1981 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Muddy River

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kimura Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

10 years after the war in Osaka

While there are many movies a child is the lead, this one is outstanding. You can empathize the children recalling your own childhood. The children here are not necessarily cute. But from this movie, you can see real sensitivity of children who feel social contradiction in their bones.

It is set to Osaka 10 years after the end of the WW2. Japan had been tremendously broken down in the war, but had miraculous recovery after it, thanks to the Korean War. Osaka is a metropolitan which has resumed prosperity and growth.

The noodle restaurant owner in this movie looks poor, but at least they can manage daily life. They and their customers had survived the war, and had worked very hard to resume the life. This couple's attitude to other people around is always warm. They accept the children from the "kuruwa-bune" (prostitution boat) without prejudice. They pay a visit to the husband's former wife at the deathbed and show their son. Everybody had such inherent, pure heart, and those who are left from the rapid economic growth kept it.