The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

1958-06-01 Japan 98 Min. PG-13
7.4 77 votes

Overview

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesa, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die. Around them, a family of thieves are dealt with severely, and an old man, past 70, whose son has cast him out, scrounges for food. Will Orin's loving and accepting spirit teach and ennoble her family?

Cast

高橋貞二 is Tatsuhei
Tatsuhei
望月優子 is Tamayan
宮口精二 is Matayan
伊藤雄之助 is Matayan's son
Matayan's son
三津田健 is Teruyan
Danko Ichikawa is Kesakichi
Keiko Ogasawara is Matsu-yan
東野英治郎 is Messenger
西村晃 is One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)
One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)
Katsuyuki Hattori is Tatsuhei's son (uncredited)
Tatsuhei's son (uncredited)
小林十九二 is One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners (uncredited)
One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners (uncredited)