Souls on the Road (1921)

Original title

路上の霊魂

Directed by

Minoru Murata

Genre

drama film, silent film

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 31m

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 13 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film interweaves the lives of two men struggling with poverty and isolation in early 20th century Japan. One is a down-on-his-luck musician and the other a disillusioned doctor trying to escape his past. Their paths cross with a group of street performers and a family in crisis. The story reflects on how people cope with hardship and seek connection.

melancholicslow-burncontemplativebleakpoignantintimatestarkhumanistic

What happens

Souls on the Road (路上の霊魂, Rojō no Reikon) is a 1921 Japanese silent film directed by Minoru Murata. Film critic Mark Cousins wrote that it was "the first landmark film in Japanese history". The film's plot is adapted from Maxim Gorky's play, The Lower Depths, and Wilhelm Schmidtbonn's drama, Children on the Street. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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