Movie Review for Narayama Bushiko (1983)

Directed by: Shohei Imamura
Starring: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto
Rated: Unrated
Runs: 130 min

A beautiful and irresistible film, although definitely not something to see in the melancholier times. It recounts the story of Tatsuhei being subject to a brutal survival scheme by having to carry his mother, Orin, to a certain mountaintop, where she will be left to die. In doing so the agonies involving the lack of food in this rural village are solved, although it tears apart the viewer in knowing that only in such a cruel manner can harmony be kept.

In traditional Japanese form, the mother (or the parent) does not complain, for they know that their place is to be ceded to the younger generation. What is particularly agonising about Orin, however, is that at the age of 69 she is still energetic, with strong teeth, something which bothers the villagers, knowing that they will have to continue to feed her. In order to save herself from being forced out of the village, she decides on her own will that it is time for her son to bring her up to the mountain, where she will be left.

The most memorable line perhaps was when Tatsuhei, shortly after having left his mother, returns when it begins snowing, saying "Mother, isn't it good that it has begun snowing?". The phrase is also full of anguish, because he knows that the snow will kill his mother faster.

I guess it sounds all too cruel the way I describe it. I guess you have to see the film to understand just how much is intertwined in the plot, just how much feeling and emotion there is behind the cruel and seemingly inhumane act of killing another villager simply because there is not enough food to share. But it is this very poverty, this very crucial aspect of a rural and isolated village, that is so mesmerising.

This film deserves a five out of five for the remarkable simplicity yet underlying complexity that is intertwined in the plot. Be prepared to shed a lot of tears as you are torn between the Tatsuhei's obligation and Orin's determination to not be a burden for her fellow villagers.

Written on Thursday, October 21 at 1:09 AM