Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

Stricken by famine, the residents of a 19th-century Japanese village decide to banish its elderly population to the top of Mt. Narayama, where they will be left to die. One year shy of her exile, the 69-year-old Orin (Sumiko Sakamoto) must settle some old scores. But her top priority is finding a wife for her eldest son (Ken Ogata). Director Shohei Imamura's multilayered lyrical drama won the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. 1984 130 minutes

This is beautifully filmed and sensitively produced. Not light fare, but worth viewing.

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