Sound of the Mountain (1954)

An ingratiating bride develops warm ties to her father-in-law while her cold husband blithely slights her for another woman.

Director:

Mikio Naruse

Writers:

Yasunari Kawabata (novel), Yôko Mizuki (adaptation)

Stars:

Setsuko Hara, Sô Yamamura, Ken Uehara

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Setsuko Hara	...	Ogata Kikuko
Sô Yamamura	...	Ogata Shingo
Ken Uehara	...	Otto, Shuichi
Yôko Sugi	...	Tanizaki Hideko
Teruko Nagaoka	...	Tsuma, Yasuko
Yatsuko Tan'ami	...	Ikeda
Chieko Nakakita	...	Aihara Fusako
Rieko Sumi	...	Kinuko
Hisao Toake	...	Shingo no yuujin
Machiko Kitagawa
Fumiko Saito
Tsuruko Mano
Nobuo Kaneko

Storyline

The businessman Ogata Shingo works with his son Shuichi, who is his secretary, and they live together in the suburb with their wives Yasuko and Kikuko respectively. Shuichi has a love affair and a loveless marriage with Kikuko. Yasuko has dedicated her entire life to her family but Shingo married her only because her older sister had died. Kikuko is the pride and joy of Shingo and they are close to each other. Out of the blue, Shingo and Yasuko's daughter Fusako leaves her husband and arrives at Shingo's home with her two children. Shingo investigates and finds the address of Shuichi's lover. Meanwhile Kikuko goes to the hospital and Shingo learns that she was pregnant but decided to abort her child.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | husband wife relationship | kamakura japan | father in law daughter in law relationship | unwanted pregnancy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sounds from the Mountains

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Brilliant

This film tackles a subject that even today is controversial: Choice. Kikuko (the utterly amazing Setsuko Hara) is locked into a loveless marriage with her husband. They live with his parents, and it is particularly her father in law Shingo (Su Yamamura, who also is excellent) that she is closest to. Kikuko is a veritable maid, but mostly doesn't complain, while her husband is having an affair. You want Kikuko to confront him, but she doesn't. Then (this is where it gets controversial) Kikuko finds out she is pregnant, doesn't tell anyone and gets an abortion! Her reason is that its not the time to have a child, since her relationship is in flux. In the movie "Juno", Ellen Page brings the baby to term. The brilliance of this film is its unflinching subject and how its handled, with dignity, sadness and relief. If this film were released today, especially in the United States, you'd have so many interest groups up in arms about it. That its handled like this, with you deciding what to feel rather than having your feelings be dictated to you, makes this a masterpiece. In every review I've written in which she has been an actress I've praised Setsuko Hara. She is beautiful (especially when she smiles), but its really about the seemingly effortless way she portrays all types of women, strong, weak, resilient, unable to cope etc. She is one of the greatest actresses to have ever graced the screen and her portrayal is phenomenal as the under appreciated wife who makes a choice based on her circumstances. Director Mikio Naruse has always considered this one of his best films, and it is. Even if you're passionate about the "life" issue, see this film. I can't say enough about the acting of Ms. Hara in this film. The film is essential viewing.