A botanist continues to visit the same mountain lodge each Harvest Moon in search of lost love in a late melodrama from Hiroshi Shimizu
May 20, 2024 • Subscribe
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Sayon’s Bell (サヨンの鐘, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1943)
An indigenous woman becomes a martyr for the Japanese empire after drowning in a river while carrying the possessions of a Japanese policeman in an unabashed propaganda effort…
Sound of the Mountain (山の音, Mikio Naruse, 1954)
A failed patriarch resolves to set his unhappily married daughter-in-free in Mikio Naruse’s post-war marital drama
Dancing Girl (踊子, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1957)
The arrival of a free-spirited younger sister creates chaos in the live of a chorus dancer and her violinist husband in Hiroshi Shimizu’s elegantly lensed melodrama.
Record of a Woman Doctor (女医の記録, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1941)
A doctor gains a new perspective on life after being sent to a remote rural village in Hiroshi Shimizu’s gentle social drama.
Image of a Mother (母のおもかげ, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1959)
A little boy’s difficulties in accepting his new stepmother express an anxiety about the changing nature of the family in Hiroshi Shimizu’s familial melodrama.
Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next (その後の蜂の巣の子供たち, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1951)
In an interesting piece of meta docufiction, Hiroshi Shimizu revisits the Beehive a few years later to find out how the orphans live now.
A Wife’s Heart (妻の心, Mikio Naruse, 1956)
When plans to start a new business go awry, a dejected wife finds herself at a crossroads in Mikio Naruse’s martial drama.
Crossroad (死の十字路, Umetsugu Inoue, 1956)
An adulterous industrialist’s life unravels after he accidentally kills his wife and tries to cover up the crime in Umetsugu Inoue’s gothic noir.
Summer Storm / 夏の嵐 / Natsu no arashi (1956)
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Pumpkin Scissors – The Woman in the Morning Mist
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Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather (明日は日本晴れ, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1948)
A bus breaking down on a mountain pass signals a roadblock on the way to a new Japan in Hiroshi Shimizu’s lighthearted yet melancholy drama.
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