Doro no kawa (1981)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Kôhei Oguri

Writers:

Teru Miyamoto (novel)
Takako Shigemori (writer)

Release Date:

30 January 1981 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends...

Plot Keywords:

River | Prostitution | Growing Up | 1950s | Death

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 15 wins & 5 nominations

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
Keizo Kanie	...	Policeman
Yoshitaka Nishiyama	...	Warehouse guard
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Man on festival boat
Masako Yagi	...	Shinpei's first wife

Also Known As:

Muddy River (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Kimura Productions

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.