The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

On numerous occasions Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura has confessed that he is more interested in filming tales of despicable low lives than narrating stories of hypocrite Japanese middle class.This is precisely what makes his film special.It must be mentioned that an earlier version of this film was made in 1958 by veteran Japanese film maker Kinoshita Keisuke.Imamura has often stated that his film is more sensual than that of Kinoshita as it featured a Kabuki style narration of events.Ballad of Narayama is a film about ancient traditions which are hard to follow.It takes place in a Japanese village where a majority of inhabitants are low lives who lead a not so decent life.As traditions are to be respected there is a lot of respect for elders. The highlight of the film is the existential dilemma of a Japanese man whose task consists of leaving his old mother in the mountains of Narayama to be eaten alive by vultures.It is believed that forthcoming generations will live when sacrifices are made by old people.It is amazing how Imamura has managed to recreate a vivid life of ancient Japanese village.Ken Ogata is a joy to watch as an obedient son who hesitates to see his old mother die.A truly great film to learn about the eccentricities of human mind especially of the oriental kind.

AnimEigo's June 2008 DVD release of The BALLAD of NARAYAMA has been eagerly awaited for many years. Unfortunately, and for reasons that are as infuriating as they are inexplicable, the company which has released the film (AnimEigo) has issued it in "full screen format" and not in Anamorphic Widescreen. This is particularly annoying for two rather considerable reasons: 1) On the box, it says "Anamorphic Widescreen," - that is "letterboxed" - but it clearly is not; I have checked out the print sent to me by NetFlicks and then at a local Video shop. 2) The film's enormously high reputation is based in great measure on its superlative cinematography and this butchered version released by AnimEigo ruins the imagery and the enjoyment of the film.The company should not be allowed to assert that the film is in ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN when it is not. This is called bait and switch.For those who wish to see this film as it was intended, DO NOT BUY THIS VERSION. Write to AnimEgo and get them to release the film properly. Their address (supposedly) is ANIMEIGO / P.O. Box 989 Wilmington, NC 28402-0989. Their phone number is 1.800.24-ANIME.

This is actually an extraordinarily beautiful film, if one has even the remotest understanding of Japanese culture around that time period. The harshness of life in Japan made the sort of society in which people went to "be with their loved-ones" and "be with the God of the Mountain" at age 70 completely necessary. The focus of the film is the struggle for survival, and more than that, prospering, in the harsh environment of c. XIX Tohoku. The exploration of this topic takes the viewer into a study of survival through strict rules, and prospering through sexual relationships. The scenes of sexual intercourse serve to portray that even in sexual situations, the Japanese as a people have never viewed nature and animals as separate from ourselves.

Bad? How we can give an opinion about a Japanese film without knowing their cultural background? As I already said in my opinions about films out of the US, there is a fundamental lack of history about nations, languages, women and man. How is this possible? Such a lack ? I don't known, but I think the US intellectual people has to understand that not only the US exists in this world. By the way I love your culture and I would not give the impression that I am saying something badly about your people. But the lack in appreciating other cultures is astonishing! Why, for gods sake! Why always like it looks the supremacy of one culture over an other? The ballad of Narayama is just the opposite. Let's talk about the export of pornography out of the US?