NARAYAMA BUSHIKOU
(THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA)Director Shohei Imamura has produced a number of well-known and newsworthy films with a vitality-filled touch that pierces the humanity lurking deep within the Japanese heart. This film, a joint production by Toei and his own Imamura Productions, is a drama of the soul that seeks the essence of universal human themes: life and death, parent and children relationships.
Based on a masterpiece by Shichiro Fukazawa, and set in a poor village deep in the Shinshu mountain range, the film tells the story of a son who must carry his mother on his back after she turns 70 and abandon her near the summit of Mount Narayama on a snowy day in accordance with the local laws — a bloodcurdling tale of how people face their death as they live with such gruesome local customs.
Year of production: 1983
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 minutes
Credits
- Shôhei IMAMURA Director
- Shôhei IMAMURA Screenplay
Casting
- Ken OGATA Tatsuhei
- Sumiko SAKAMOTO Orin
Images
Contacts
Production
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TOEI COMPANY, LTD.
2-17, 3-Chome, Ginza, Chuo-ku
104-8108
TOKYO Japan
T: 81 335357621mam_ookita@toei.co.jphttp://www.toei.co.jp