Naked Island

An very symbolic little tale about life. Probably the most beautiful film about survival and human instinct, that you'll ever see.

The greatest speechless film ever made and a masterpiece of Japanese cinema. Deceptively simple in its depiction of the Sisyphean life of a family living alone on a small island, and yet mesmerizing, heart-rending and thought-provoking. When the face of the twiggy woman toiling uphill as she carries a load of water that looks to weigh enough to snap her bones, finally glides up into the frame in a frontal close-up, it is unforgettably dramatic. The music and photography are superb.

On man's coexistence with nature, the cycles of life and season, the will to survive, and the hardships of labor. An existentialism austerely outlined in symbolism, but felt no less strongly for it, and transfixing in its elemental textures and rhythmic simplicity. Extraordinary and beautiful.

kurak bir adada yasayan ailenin belgeselimsi dramasi. kurek cek, kova tasi, tepeleri tirman... tahminim basrol oyunculari bu film sonrasi sinemayi birakmistir.

Extremely conflicting when considering how much enjoyment can be gained from it, but immensenly impressive achievement in capturing the most arduous and tedious of peasant life. I found it especially interesting how the use of silence is progressed throughout the film, in techniques of the present and past age, and narratively speaking.

Peaceful, beautiful and contemplative, but at times it felt a little too drawn out. It seems like it benefits from being in the mood for that kind of thing going in, and I wasn't fully there.

Perfect cinematography.

i would have just moved. i guess they are pretty fit

Reminder of the rewards of working in society.

This was very much headed toward a 50 or 55 or so rating from me for the first 70 minutes or so as a well done but kind of dull slice of life piece, but when the major tonal shift, which is masterfully handled, hits (you'll know it when you see it), it recontextualizes the entire film to that point in surprising ways, landing a big emotional punch. It hit me out of nowhere--a legitimately surprising direction that really not only saves the film but makes it quite a good one. Otowa is amazing.

farklı okumalara uygun bir malzeme var. ancak diyalogsuz filmlerde yoğun müzik kullanımı bana kaçak dövüşmek gibi geliyor. müzikle duyguların bu kadar manipüle edilmesi filmi ucuzlaştırmış.

A Ilha Nua estreava há 60 anos no Japão. Reza a lenda que Shindo reconhecia a influência do neorealismo italiano nesse filme, mas vou um passo adiante para dizer que isso aqui lembra muito o Dovzhenko, tanto pela poética da composição, quanto pelo cinema silencioso cuja imagem se faz tão potente que renega o som, só está ausente a utopia do Estado comunista que vem acabar com o sofrimento de toda gente. Box Versátil Nouvelle Vague Japonesa.

It's amazing how much depth and story can be told with out dialogue or inter-tiles. The actors give great performances especially Nobuko Otowa who was memorizing. The score was strong and the cinematography was beautiful. I can't give it a higher rating because I was never really drawn in on an emotional level and I ended up wanting a little more than I got. It's a great movie though and one I think everyone should see at least once.

As expected, lots of Japanese New Wave thematic and stylistic goodness to be found here. One particularly fascinating visual effect is the depiction of sweeping landscapes and fireworks in black-and-white, mirroring the monotony and hardships that cloud the family's attempts at happiness.

Seemingly both a pseudo-anthropological ode to agriculture (as a work of care that cultivates transformations) and a symbolic critique of the endless toil that results when work is reduced to the monotonous labour of the Japanese proletariat (including and especially the female proletariat) as the small island nation, possessing scant resources, struggles to industrialise. The first is perhaps more successful than the second, which possibly runs counter to the filmmaker's political intentions.

Its picturesque austerity is both peaceful and mind-numbing, though the repetition of images leads to a relevant lesson at the end: When you can't escape your life, you better make peace with it.

It's a fine line between meditative and boring, and whether or not it was simply my frame of mind, this film fell into the latter category. I suppose it's allegorical in one way or another, but in the end it failed to stimulate my imagination, which leaves nothing else but repetitive routine and some admirable filmmaking. Respectable, but not my thing.

You don't need to tell me that carrying buckets of water up a hill is hard work, but the way Shindo somehow viscerally transmits the physical strain of the action to the viewer is amazing, and that's just the beginning.

Simple in construction, but loaded with allegorical possibilities. As I watched the events unfold I pondered the significance of what I was seeing and found my mind going down several different paths. Shindo never makes a big deal about the wordlessness of the narrative; it doesn't ever feel like a novelty, but rather just that no words are necessary. Gorgeous cinematography and a lyrical score. A sometimes difficult film but one that is rewarding both as food for thought and food for the soul.