Kurutta ippêji (1926)

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Director:

Teinosuke Kinugasa

Writers:

Yasunari Kawabata (short story), Yasunari Kawabata (adaptation)

Stars:

Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa

Cast

Cast overview:
Masuo Inoue	...	Servant
Ayako Iijima	...	Servant's Daughter
Yoshie Nakagawa	...	Servant's Wife
Hiroshi Nemoto	...	Young Man
Misao Seki	...	Doctor
Minoru Takase	...	Crazy Man A
Eiko Minami	...	Dancer
Kyosuke Takamatsu	...	Crazy Man B
Tetsu Tsuboi	...	Crazy Man C
Shintarô Takiguchi	...	Boy

Storyline

A husband picks up a job as a janitor at an insane asylum scheming all the time to be close to and free his wife from the institution where she recently attempted suicide. A score was added when in 1970 the reels were unearthed after they were considered lost for decades. The director approved and subsequently repudiated this version.

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Plot Keywords:

asylum | mental illness | madness | wife | doctor | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Forgotten Pages

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kinugasa Productions, National Film Art, Shin Kankaku-ha Eiga Renmei Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min (1975 sound) 78 min (2007 restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was lost for more than forty years until it was rediscovered by director Teinosuke Kinugasa in a shed in 1971.

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Alternate Versions

Reissued in Japan in 1973 with musical score replacing original benshi.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: The Golden Age of World Cinema (2011)

User Reviews

Harrowing, Disturbing, Uncompromising

If you do not think you can take graphic scenes of mentally unstable people, this film is not for you.This story is about a man who takes a job at a local mental institution so he can be near his wife, who has gone mad. Throughout this long thought lost film you see clearly harrowing images of people at the institution. The soundtrack only adds to the foreboding. There are people lying catatonic and there is a dancer who doesn't stop dancing until she drops to the floor, exhausted. The film is 59 minutes long, I think it was originally longer but this was all that was found. There are no inter titles, its a silent film. In Japan, I am certain the benshi narrated the story in theaters, but your imagination has to follow this story. So, why a 7? It is daring, unflinching, brave and both ugly and not at the same time. As a point of reference only, Guy Maddin's work approaches this. Just know going in there is no happiness here. You won't soon forget this film. Best idea: Don't watch it before bedtime, it will stay with you.