Mikio Naruse

[Michael Kerpan]

There really isn't much context to be found in the two omnibus films that the two short Naruse films come from. The Naruse bits are (as I recall) the best segments of both films.

A much better omnibus film is Ishinaka-sensei gyojoki -- based on three stories by Yojiro Ishizaka, all 3 segments directed by Naruse. The English title for this (Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka) is especially idiotic. Ishinaka-sensei is not a "professor" but rather a writer of short stories (just like Ishizaka himself) visiting northern Honshu (Ishizaka's home base) and studying the romantic ways of the local (mainly rural) populace. The English translation of the (partial) story collection the film draws on is "Mr. Ishinaka Tells Tales of Rural Drollery". All 3 parts are fun, but each gets progressively better than the preceding one -- winding up with the best of all with Mifune as a tongue-tied (in the presence of pretty girls) farm boy who accidentally "kidnaps" a pretty girl from another village (she falls asleep on top of HIS haywagon after a long day in town -- instead of the wagon going back to her own village).

[Quot]

Michael, I've seen Ishinaka and liked it an awful lot. While those shorts mostly (except for the middle sequence) focused on rural settings, the two Takamine vehicles were more urban (0r modern) and as such, also intersting in that you can anticipate the divide from the times when Takamine was presented as single (as a daughter, or divorcee), and those when she crossed the line to predominantly playing the role of wife (I think the second short may be an early example of this, if not the first).

But yes, certainly Naruse's skills were not confined to his feature length narratives.

[Michael Kerpan]

But yes, certainly Naruse's skills were not confined to his feature length narratives.

Have you seen Natsukashii no kao (A Fondly Remembered Face)? Another fascinating short Naruse film.

It's hard to know when Takamine shifted to parts where she portrayed a young wife/mother -- as we are missing access to many films from the3 middle of the 40s. I would guess that the first role of this may have been in the 1944 Four Marriages. (not seen by me).

[Quot]

Have you seen Natsukashii no kao (A Fondly Remembered Face)? Another fascinating short

Yeah. And noteworthy for developing one of Naruse's patented emotional paradoxes in such a brief run-time. Really, the only bit of propaganda in the entirety of this wartime short occurs during the reconciliation of the soldier's wife and his younger brother (both viewed patriotism from entirely different perspectives, his from a more self-identifying sense born of idolization of his brother, hence the love of model airplanes, and hers from an instinctive nurturing sense (represented by the omnipresent infant that she carries around) and exemplified in her decision to buy the boy the plane at the expense of purchasing a ticket to attend the newsreel in which her husband appears -- an unselfish act on her part that is unfortunately not viewed in the spirit in which it was intended). In my mind, Naruse sacrifices a bit with the "all's well that ends well' resolution when they learn that the schoolmaster has arranged for a showing that both younger brother and sister-in-law can attend. Seems a little pat given the conflict portrayed just moments before.

[puxzkkx]

Has anyone else found Little Peach on the internet? I have, but I can't find any decent subtitles - they are all wildly out of sync and poorly matched up.

[MichaelB]

Has anyone else found Little Peach on the internet? I have, but I can't find any decent subtitles - they are all wildly out of sync and poorly matched up.

Have you tried downloading Jubler? It's an absolute lifesaver when syncing up subtitles - often, simply converting the framerate from PAL to NTSC (or vice versa) and/or shifting the start (to allow for differing distribution logos) is all that I need to do.

[puxzkkx]

Hey, thanks a lot! I'll try using it to watch Little Peach tomorrow.

I saw Older Brother, Younger Sister today and was very impressed. As did Flowing this one completely immerses you in its subjects' lives, capturing you with the gentle but increasingly subtly erratic and ominous rhythms of drama and editing. By the end we've reached a devastating climax fulfilled by a denouement of similarly grim yet beautiful ambiguity. My favourite moment may be the broken countershot near the end, which sets up to imply a flashback only to create a forward ellipse. It caps the film wonderfully.

Machiko Kyo is superb, but Reisaburo Yamamoto and Masayuki Mori overplay without the necessary depth to offset their excess. Yoshiko Kuga has always struck me as an actress who simply reads her lines, and she's bland here as usual but it works for the character. None of this hurts the film, though.

[Michael Kerpan]

I rather like Yoshiko Kuga -- Ani imoto (Older brother, younger Sister(s)) and elsewhere. In Ani imoto, she is, by design, overshadowed by Machiko Kyo. ;~} I also like Yamamoto -- his overplaying is credible, given his part. I will agree that Mori seems ill-suited to the part he has, however.

[puxzkkx]

I guess I'm just bothered by the fact that she looks so much like Alfred E. Neuman!

[Michael Kerpan]

I guess I'm just bothered by the fact that she looks so much like Alfred E. Neuman!

You really think so?

Kuga 1 -2 - 3

[sidehacker]

The first picture seems to support his theory. Otherwise, I disagree.

[Michael Kerpan]

The first picture seems to support his theory. Otherwise, I disagree.

That's Mori who looks like Alfred E. ;~}

[sidehacker]

Do people really weigh a performer's appearance so much on their actual performance? Sure, it's nice when someone's attractive but I think this might be a case of individuals being spoiled by the high percentage of more famous and attractive Japanese performers. I'm not trying to be a bully here, just an honest question.

[puxzkkx]

I'm not bothered by it, I was just being a bully - her consistent lack of energy and flavour as a performer are what put me off. To be fair she is usually saddled with audience-cipher roles that leave little room for actorly innovation, but someone like Ayako Wakao took on those roles in the same time period and gave them unique personality. However Kuga was never an erotic presence (indeed in Older Brother, Younger Sister she's the asexual yin to Machiko Kyo's yang) and that's why she played the parts she did.

[Michael Kerpan]

Kuga gave numerous very fine performances over the course of her career. Yes, she was not a superstar like Tanaka or Hara or Takamine -- nor was she a spitfire like Machiko Kyo or Ayako Wakao. But she was an actress whose work I routinely value (note -- still alive -- but retired for over a decade now).

[puxzkkx]

I saw Yearning yesterday and was very impressed. Another Naruse film that appears to be straightforward at first but unfolds in your mind like a flower after you turn it off. It is visually lush in a way I haven't seen from Naruse before, and the final act may be the most impressive thing I've seen from him so far. Takamine is magnificent in a tour-de-force nearing the heights she reached in When a Woman... - here she plays a much more classical role. The rest of the cast is solid but I was intrigued by the somewhat Lois Maxwell-y Mitsuko Kusabue's sidelined contributions as the shrewish sister-in-law.

[Michael Kerpan]

Yes -- I would agree that the last section of Yearning (starting with the train trip) is some of Naruse's (and Takamine's) best work ever.

[puxzkkx]

Maybe you would have some insight into why Koji continues to address Reiko as neesan even after he declares his love for her? Dramatically important or just creepy?

[Michael Kerpan]

Maybe you would have some insight into why Koji continues to address Reiko as neesan even after he declares his love for her? Dramatically important or just creepy?

Probably neither -- just an artifact of Japanese terms of address (which work very differently from English ones). In addition, "nee-san" is simply the term he is used to using when addressing his slightly older (former) sister-in-law .

[YnEoS]

So University of Chicago, which is near me is screening prints of Naruse & Takamine films every Monday.

Here's what they're showing...

Lightning (Passed)
Floating Clouds (Passed)
A Wife's Heart (Tonight)
Flowing
Untamed
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
A Wanderer's Notebook
Yearning


Not sure I'll be able to make all of these screenings, so does anyone have any recommendations on which films I absolutely can't miss? Already seen Flowing and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, and am eager to see them again on film.

[Michael Kerpan]

Every film in the series is wonderful. Wife's Heart (though maybe only B++ Naruse) has a lovely performance by a very urbane Mifune. (Mifune's other Naruse performance -- as a tongue-tied, girl-shy farm boy is even more charming).

[Quot]

It's a shame that the showing of Lightning has passed, as I'd definitely classify that as must-see. And indeed, those are all pretty terrific films. If seeing all the remaining films is not an option, then I would recommend Yearning unquestionably. If it were me, I'd also catch Flowing and, while it's not Naruse's best film, I wouldn't miss Untamed. Hideko Takamine is a force to be reckoned with in that film, and her performance is imminently enjoyable, somewhat over-the-top, yet wonderfully compelling.

[Michael Kerpan]

Lightning is near the top of my list of Naruse favorites -- and with one of his more hopeful endings. I am very surprised this never got a subbed release. ;~{

Untamed is a little rough around the edges, but you are right, it's a marvelous (and entertaining) film. There is also a good translation of the source novel -- called Rough Living -- and I would say this is a must-read if you enjoy the film.

[Michael Kerpan]

Since you're the closest we have to an expert does he have any The Munekata Sisters type skeletons in his closet? The weakest I've seen is Mother which still has a good number of positives going for it.

question reposted from the Film Club board discussion of WaWAtS

First, a little defense of Mother. This really is a remarkable film overall -- but the cloying narration puts people off a bit (I know it unsettled me the first time around). There is an explanation -- this film was based on a prize-winning essay written by a school-girl (middle school, probably). The narration is (almost surely) straight from her essay. But the film does not really track the rather simplistic view of the narrator-essayist. While sometimes it seems to show the oler daughter's viewpoint, it more often seems to track the mother's perspective -- and every now and then it catches a bit of the viewpoint of the little sister and the mother's devoted employee. Remarkably funny at times and heart-breaking at others, it is vastly more complex than the bits of narration that frame it.

Naruse has 69 or so surviving films -- 2 of which (both made during WW2) are reportedly fragmentary and basically completely inaccessible. Obviously, not every one of the remaining 67 is a masterpiece, but many of them ARE jewels (albeit some only semi-precious). But outright clunkers are surprisingly few -- and none of these are available -- except in the Internet netherworld (or by visiting my house).


The MOST Munekata-like Naruse film was made around the same time as MS -- and suffers from essentially the same sort of problem (only more so). Battle of the Roses was based on a current best-seller, and Shochiku wanted it made quickly and didn't allow Naruse the degree of script editing latitude he had at Toho (his Toho colleagues said he usually cut out huge chunks of the dialog they had written) BotR has WAY too much plot and accompanying dialog -- so Naruse has to race through this, with little time available for his usual visual development.

His 1937 Avalanche (featuring Kurosawa as second unit/assistant director) has a fairly interesting story, but comes across as surprisingly inert (btw -- it uses a peculiar stylistic device that was used once -- and never again). His 1936 The Road I travel With You had some of the same basic problems -- possibly (and paradoxically) because the underly material is TOO melodramatic. Angry Street (from 1950) is another film of this sort.

Then there are the really weird films -- most strikingly The Heir (NOT "heirs") of Taro Urashima (1946), which shares some things with Simon of the Desert (but doesn't really work that well). White Beast (1950) about a school for "wayward girls" is problematic, but has more of interest. His next-to-last film, Hit and Run, is WAY too melodramatic (reminiscent of The Housemaid, which had not long before made a splash ion Japan, but almost utterly devoid of the black humor in Housemaid and in most of Naruse's own darker movies).

Then there are some fairly "trivial" films like "Five Men in the Circus" -- but I actually found this rather entertaining.

A useful set of comments on Naruse's films (by my "collague" in Narusemania, Dan Sallitt) can be accessed from:

http://sallitt.blogspot.com/2013/07/not ... aruse.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What was more surpring to me is just how many genuine treasures were to be found in the supposedly minor films made by Naruse while he was supposedly in a 15 year slump (from the mid-30s until 1950).

[knives]

Thanks for that thorough response. Also to clarify I was pointing to Mother primarily to show the high level of quality the Naruse I have seen has been.