Underplayed Gems

The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

The Ballad of Narayama poster
Original title
楢山節考
Directed by
Shohei Imamura
Genre
drama film, comedy drama, art film
Country
Japan
Runtime
2h 10m
Rated
R 18+
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 204 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

An elderly woman prepares to be taken to a mountain to die, following a local custom. The film follows her family's daily life and their difficult decisions around this tradition.

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What happens

The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考, Narayama bushikō) is a 1983 Japanese film by director Shōhei Imamura. It stars Sumiko Sakamoto as Orin, Ken Ogata, and Shoichi Ozawa. It is an adaptation of the book Narayama bushikō by Shichirō Fukazawa, which had previously been adapted for a 1958 film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Both films explore the legendary practice of ubasute, in which elderly people were carried to a mountain and abandoned to die. Imamura's film won the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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