Underplayed Gems

The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

The Ballad of Narayama poster
Original title
楢山節考
Directed by
Keisuke Kinoshita
Genre
drama film
Country
Japan
Runtime
1h 48m
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 90 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

In a poor Japanese village long ago, custom forces families to abandon their elders on a mountain when they turn 70. An old woman prepares for her own journey to the mountain, while her son struggles with the tradition and his love for his mother.

slow-burnsomberausteremeditativevisually stylizedresignedceremonialfolkloric

What happens

The Ballad of Narayama (Japanese: 楢山節考, Hepburn: Narayama bushikō) is a 1958 Japanese historical drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. It is based on the 1956 novella of the same name by Shichirō Fukazawa. The film explores the legendary practice of ubasute, in which elderly people were carried to a mountain and abandoned to die. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.