Ballad of Narayama

The first half hour is a lot of set-up, it's only after that when things get interesting. The harsh realities of poverty force the residents of a tiny village to concern themselves only with the essentials: food, sex, and death. Frequent shots of wildlife hunting and copulating underscore the situation (not too subtle, but effective). Sumiko Sakamoto is superb. The film's final, nearly wordless act is quite gripping. The musical score, however, is dated and not that good.

The last 30 minutes is a thing of beauty. But despite some interesting thematic elements, everything else leading up to that point is tonally discordant, symbolically heavy to the point of tediousness, and just generally steeped in all kinds of unpleasantness.

Bleak and depressing, but not without a sense of humour and beauty, Imamura gives us a portrait of a small village and its idiosyncratic cultural norms. Very interesting and well performed. I liked it a lot, even though at times I got a little lost. The contrasting images of nature and humanity were an inspired touch.

As beautiful as it is bleak. Maintains a cool anthropological perspective that's both spectacular and emotional without turning cheesy or sentimental. The narrative is slightly all over the place and some of the symbolism a bit heavy-handed but the naturalistic style holds everything together brilliantly. It paints a brutally human picture of the everyday struggle for survival in physical, social and spiritual sense. Breathtaking visuals and Sumiko Sakamoto is absolutely transcendent.

in the vein of DODES'KA-DEN, though with its own distinctive voice of course, and a bit more heavily plotted. miserable, miserable stuff. exactly the sort of thing i'm invariably attracted to. music could've been better.

That last 45 minutes.

There are some staggering sequences in this - the burying alive, the hike and skeleton field - but its brutality was just too pragmatic, and whatever Stinky had going on was just too much altogether, for me to generally connect with it. Yet, I watched this after being forced to file my own taxes, and so I really understand Imamura when he said that the world of Narayama made more sense to him than the modern one.

Film posnet na filmski trak. Malce čudaški, malo gnusen, malo zanimiv. Dobre modrosti starejših in starodavnih. Prispodobe se še kar ok, čeprav ni to moja pogača.

Strange, haunting, always interesting take of a village where the elders must climb a mountain at 70 and die of starvation (based on a Japanese legendary practice that was never actually popularly used.) You really have no idea where it's going and it doesn't follow many cliches at all. The characters inhabit a dark, unforgiving world that is convincingly brought to life. Good stuff.

A lot of stuff happening in this one. I really enjoyed the shots of nature in between - predators and prey, securing one's offspring - as it showed that not everything is that different with people when they are hungry, cold... or horny, I guess. It's not for everyone, but I did enjoy it. Beautiful imagery, too. I will need to watch the original at some point.

Beautifully shot, well acted. I thought the set up was done with efficient storytelling. The nature intercuts keeps us engaged cerebrally, much needed to balance what is at times overwhelmingly brutal/grotesque. The ending underwhelmed me a bit, but this is a worthwhile, complicated work. I do not plan on revisiting any time soon.

The nature shots, absolutely beautiful. Couldn't really bring myself to care about the stuff in between though.

Viewed January 10, 2021.

Sondaki dağa tırmanma sahnesi için verdim 20 puanı da. Fakirliği konu edinmiş, bir dolu cahil köylü ve bol cinsellik var.

i've been spoiled by profound desire of the gods.

some cool nature/death imagery, but I ultimately had a hard time personally relating to any of these warped weirdos

Gorgeous, intriguing... Often shocking, and though at times it loses it's pacing, this film is highly rewarding to watch.

Bu koyu gerçekliğin acısı, ancak bir mucize gerçekleştiğinde hafifleyecek. Kar yağdığında.#balladofnarayama

Imamura's take on faux-legend already put on celluloid 25 years earlier by Kinoshita is both funny and shocking. It's shot on beautiful rural area and Imamura uses every opportunity to juxtapose humanity and nature showing full circle of life. Good acting from all the cast, especially Ogata. It's not an easy watch, sometimes it gets dull.

işte bunlar hep seks.

So wait, people reach a certain age and then are sent off to die? Yeah, I liked this movie the first time I saw it, when it was called Logan's Run. Nice try, Imamura, you Hollywood-philiac rip-off artist.

#899

"However you slice up postwar Japanese cinema, Shohei Imamura is one of its premiere figures." - Zach Campbell

The idiocy of rural life: the movie.

845

851

seriously, i expected something better

14 Mart 08, 16:30seansi, 5.japon filmleri festivali, en arka, koltuk8 & Hayat bir dongudur, yasli olan olur ve bebek dogar.Bu dongu kiralamaz.Narayama Bushiko'nun anlatmak istedigi de bu aslinda.Narayama'da hayat kolay degildir, ozellikle yaslilar icin.Hatta yas 70'e gelince olume terkedilmeye kadar bile gider bu.Narayama'daki hayati anlatan ve bu dongunun sonuclarini gosteren bir film.Yer yer agir olmasi esnemeye neden olsa da, yonetmenlik ve oyunculuk kesinlikle mukemmel! "festivalin en iyisi"

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