La ballade de Narayama

This is one of the most beautiful and moving motion pictures I have ever seen. The extreme hardships faced by the people in this story are presented frankly and unsentimentally. The cinematography is absolutely exquisite, particularly the last 10-15 minutes. Although the film never gives in to or panders to sentimentality (sentimentality, Imamura?), the end is really a tear-jerker. As much as I hate to make lists of my "favorite things", this movie would definitely rate among my top ten of all times. Do yourself a favor and see this movie!

On numerous occasions Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura has confessed that he is more interested in filming tales of despicable low lives than narrating stories of hypocrite Japanese middle class.This is precisely what makes his film special.It must be mentioned that an earlier version of this film was made in 1958 by veteran Japanese film maker Kinoshita Keisuke.Imamura has often stated that his film is more sensual than that of Kinoshita as it featured a Kabuki style narration of events.Ballad of Narayama is a film about ancient traditions which are hard to follow.It takes place in a Japanese village where a majority of inhabitants are low lives who lead a not so decent life.As traditions are to be respected there is a lot of respect for elders. The highlight of the film is the existential dilemma of a Japanese man whose task consists of leaving his old mother in the mountains of Narayama to be eaten alive by vultures.It is believed that forthcoming generations will live when sacrifices are made by old people.It is amazing how Imamura has managed to recreate a vivid life of ancient Japanese village.Ken Ogata is a joy to watch as an obedient son who hesitates to see his old mother die.A truly great film to learn about the eccentricities of human mind especially of the oriental kind.

I was a little surprised by a few of the negative comments below since I don't consider this film to be at all slow or dull. Many foreign and Asian films (Tsai Ming-Liang, Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, Hou Hsiao-Hsien for example)are far more grueling and slow whereas this film is loaded with narrative events, humor, eroticism (of various sorts, not all involving contact between humans and other humans)and a profound meditation on community, responsibility and mortality. If one finds this slow then I'd imagine most foreign films besides Amelie would be off-limits. I have rarely seen a film that forces one to confront such disturbing yet important subjects. In this village where scarcity forces all over 70 to be taken to Narayama mountain to die, a 69 year old woman who is still energetic and capable must settle her son's affairs before taking her final journey. Pondering how one would live in a place where for years one would know that at 70 this would happen is one key question. Further, what are the final things one must do before dying. Finally, the film makes us confront the literal truth of bodily decay and corruption in the scenes at Narayama Mountain.

This is actually an extraordinarily beautiful film, if one has even the remotest understanding of Japanese culture around that time period. The harshness of life in Japan made the sort of society in which people went to "be with their loved-ones" and "be with the God of the Mountain" at age 70 completely necessary. The focus of the film is the struggle for survival, and more than that, prospering, in the harsh environment of c. XIX Tohoku. The exploration of this topic takes the viewer into a study of survival through strict rules, and prospering through sexual relationships. The scenes of sexual intercourse serve to portray that even in sexual situations, the Japanese as a people have never viewed nature and animals as separate from ourselves.

... in this Japanese period drama from Shochiku and writer-director Keisuke Kinoshita. In a poor farming village, old woman Orin (Kinuyo Tanaka) is feeling the pressure, both from her ingrate grandson, and her own conscience and adherence to tradition, to commit obasute, wherein elderly people travel to the top of nearby Narayama mountain and wait to die from starvation or exposure. Orin is the strongest, most productive member of the family, but youth trumps utility, and Orin prepares to make her final journey.

Using widescreen and color film, director Kinoshita uniquely melds the cinematic with the theatrical, as the story is told in near kabuki fashion, with a singing narrator and traditional Japanese musical instrumentation. The sets are stylized and deliberately artificial, with realistic settings in the foreground, and miniature or painted backdrops behind them. There is also repeated use of monochromatic lighting, from red filters to green filters, to accentuate the mood of the scene.

The performances are equally stylized in the kabuki manner, and as such may be off-putting to Western audiences unused to the style. I thought the film was tremendous, an artistically challenging production with a very striking audio and visual presentation, and a moving, universal story touching on aging and obsolescence forming the bedrock. Recommended.