Narayama bushiko (1983)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Writers:

Shohei Imamura (screenplay)
Shichirô Fukazawa (novel)

Release Date:

29 April 1983 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Only time could change the cruelty of tradition ... only their Love could survive it ...

Plot:

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die...

Plot Keywords:

Village | Remake | Mob Violence | Buried Alive | Old Age

Awards:

9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Ken Ogata	...	Tatsuhei
Sumiko Sakamoto	...	Orin
Tonpei Hidari	...	Risuke
Aki Takejo	...	Tamayan (as Aki Takejô)
Shoichi Ozawa	...	Katsuzô (as Shôichi Ozawa)
Fujio Tokita	...	Jinsaku
Sanshô Shinsui	...	Zeniya no Tadayan
Seiji Kurasaki	...	Kesakichi
Junko Takada	...	Matsuyan
Mitsuko Baisho	...	Oei (as Mitsuko Baishô)
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Teruyan
Casey Takamine	...	Arayashiki (as Kêshi Takamine)
Nenji Kobayashi	...	Tsune
Nijiko Kiyokawa	...	Okane
Akio Yokoyama	...	Amaya

Also Known As:

Ballad of Narayama (International: English title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | France:Unrated | Australia:R | UK:18 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan

Company:

Toei Company

Movie Connections:

Remake of Narayama bushiko (1958)

Soundtrack:

Oya wo nemurasu komori uta

Tough stuff but asks the basic questions

I was a little surprised by a few of the negative comments below since I don't consider this film to be at all slow or dull. Many foreign and Asian films (Tsai Ming-Liang, Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, Hou Hsiao-Hsien for example)are far more grueling and slow whereas this film is loaded with narrative events, humor, eroticism (of various sorts, not all involving contact between humans and other humans)and a profound meditation on community, responsibility and mortality. If one finds this slow then I'd imagine most foreign films besides Amelie would be off-limits. I have rarely seen a film that forces one to confront such disturbing yet important subjects. In this village where scarcity forces all over 70 to be taken to Narayama mountain to die, a 69 year old woman who is still energetic and capable must settle her son's affairs before taking her final journey. Pondering how one would live in a place where for years one would know that at 70 this would happen is one key question. Further, what are the final things one must do before dying. Finally, the film makes us confront the literal truth of bodily decay and corruption in the scenes at Narayama Mountain.