Narayama-bushi kô (1983)

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

A shocking, depressing, and even humorous depiction of a villages efforts to survive.

"Ballad of Narayama" is ultimately a film about survival.

Set during the Meiji Period, the inhabitants of a tiny Japanese farming village are forced to embrace extreme tactics to ensure that they stay alive.

Male babies are instantly killed with hardly any remorse, while females are usually sold. Stealing food is punishable by death, which we see in a very disturbing scene where an entire family are buried alive due their father's crime.

And, ultimately, the elderly are sent to die at the base of a mountain called Narayama when they reach the age of 70.

Despite the depressing tone, there is a lot of humor in this film, as well. The songs that the villagers sing about each other are pretty funny, and it's difficult not to laugh at Old Orin trying to knock her own teeth out with a rock.

Speaking of Old Orin, the actress who player her (Sumiko Sakamoto) gives a wonderful performance in this film. She had her teeth surgically removed for this role, and gives a realistic depiction of a 70-year-old woman even though she was in her 40s when the film was made.

"Ballad of Narayama" is indeed a depressing film in many aspects, but it's also filled with humor and offers a better understanding of what life must be like in these types of situations.