"The Ballad of Narayama"

Film Review # 108593

Asian Studies > East Asian Cultures
Ethnic Studies > Asia
Film > Analysis, Criticism, Etc.

A discussion on the cultural and historical context of the movie, "The Ballad of Narayama", directeb by Shohei Imamura.

1,583 words () | 0 sources | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the movie "The Ballad of Narayama" (Narayama Bushiko), directed by Shohei Imamura, which portrays both an image of rural 19th century Japanese life and values, and the forces that began to change and shape this society. The paper comments that the movie is based on the book of the same name by novelist Fukasawa, which in turn was derived from an ancient folktale about a society in which the members traditionally abandon their elderly to die of exposure on a mountain top. The paper notes that from this evidence, we can then assume that Imamura brought this fictional legend to screen in order to present, perhaps even to the point of embellishment, the historical Japanese tradition of individual sacrifice for the good of the whole. This paper analyzes first Imamura's practice of appropriating natural images in order to explain the values and lives of the villagers, and secondly, his meticulous portrayal of the intricate relationships and attitudes present in both the family and village of traditional 19th century Japan.

From the Paper:

"This internal conflict between the more modern humanism and historical Japanese personal sacrifice for the group as personified in Tatsuhei must have resonated with the 1930's audience of Japan, who were, at the time, in the midst of a war, and performing many personal sacrifices of their own on behalf of their country. It raised enough of a response in Europe also, who were then declaring the death of capitalism, and making a move to socialism, to win the grand prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France."