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A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

Ukikusa monogatari (original title)
Not Rated | | Drama | January 1994 (USA)
A Story of Floating Weeds Poster
A kabuki actor's mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lover's son.

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Tadao Ikeda, Yasujirô Ozu (story) (as James Maki)

Stars:

Takeshi Sakamoto, Chôko Iida, Kôji Mitsui | See full cast & crew »
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1 win. See more awards »

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Cast

Credited cast:
Takeshi Sakamoto ... Kihachi
Chôko Iida ... Otsune, Ka-yan
Kôji Mitsui ... Shinkichi (as Hideo Mitsui)
Rieko Yagumo Rieko Yagumo ... Otaka
Yoshiko Tsubouchi ... Otoki
Tomio Aoki Tomio Aoki ... Tomi-boh
Reikô Tani Reikô Tani ... Tomibo's father
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kiyoshi Aono Kiyoshi Aono ... Sword trainer
Mariko Aoyama Mariko Aoyama ... Barber's landlady
Mitsumura Ikebe Mitsumura Ikebe ... Villager
Seiji Nishimura Seiji Nishimura ... Kichi, an actor
Mitsuru Wakamiya Mitsuru Wakamiya ... Station attendant
Emiko Yagumo Emiko Yagumo
Nagamasa Yamada Nagamasa Yamada ... Maako, an actor
Munenobu Yui Munenobu Yui
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

A troupe of actors comes to town, short on funds and bedeviled by bad weather, so they can't put on shows. Kihachi is the troupe's leader. He steals off every day to visit Otsune (an ex-lover) and their son, Shinkichi, who believes his father is a long-dead civil servant. Kihachi has been paying Shinkichi's tuition, and he's now at university. Kihachi's lover, Otaka, the troupe's lead actress, learns Kihachi's secret and plots to ruin Shinkichi and humiliate Kihachi: she offers money to Otoki, the troupe's ingénue, to seduce Shinkichi. Soon the boy is head over heels, and Otoki finds herself with feelings for him. Can this end well or is tragedy at hand? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

troupe | absent father | jealous lover | actor | ex lover | See All (39) »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 1994 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

A Story of Floating Weeds See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #232. See more »

Quotes

Kihachi: Don't be silly. Get me a kimono.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The film title and credits are placed before a backdrop of plain sackcloth. This would become a trademark of Yasujirô Ozu films. See more »

Connections

Remade as Floating Weeds (1959) See more »

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User Reviews

Acting up
19 August 2011 | by GyatsoLa – See all my reviews

This is one of the earliest Ozu films widely available, and the Criterion version is outstanding in quality.

Its a perfect example of Ozu at his best. Its a gem of a film - beautifully shot, a perfect structure, funny, sad and fascinating. The story is simple enough - a traveling troupe arrive at a town, not realizing the reason the chief actor picked the town is because an old flame of his lives here with his son. His current girlfriend in her jealousy tries to stir things up, but things don't turn out as either expect.

What is most striking about the film is just how modern it seems. The characters are believable and funny, the female characters are strong and willful, while even the minor characters are nicely sketched out. The acting is nothing short of brilliant, which makes the whole film very entertaining - this is no period piece of academic interest only, its a great work of art and a wonderful film - a masterpiece really.
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