Mount Head (2002)
"Atama-yama" (original title)

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets ... See full summary »

Director:

Koji Yamamura

Writers:

Aaron Berman (subtitles), Shoji Yonemura

Stars:

Takeharu Kunimoto

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Takeharu Kunimoto	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree (and leave huge mounds of trash) eventually drive him to uproot the tree. This leaves a crater on top of his head, which fills with water, which becomes a popular lake.

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Plot Keywords:

head | cherry | greed | folk tale

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Short

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Details

Official Sites:

Yamamura Animation

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mountain Head

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min 9 min (Ontario) 10 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003)

User Reviews

Fantastic, should have won!

This should have gotten the Oscar. It was dreamy, meditative, and surreal. I absolutely loved it. The narration was sort of chanted or sung, like it was in imitation of some Japanese traditional performance that I (in my cultural myopia) wasn't familiar with. But I got very caught up in it. See it in a theater if you can--it works great if you feel surrounded by it. Funny, weird stuff.