Mikio Naruse

[jguitar]

There must be more than 25 actresses of this era that I find extraordinary.

I've just recently discovered Hideko Takamine (at the Naruse retrospective in Vancouver) and was also blown away by her performance in Yearning. Of course I've long been a fan of Tanaka and Hara. But Michael's intriguing statement above made me think of a question I've wondered about for some time: does anyone know of good books that you can recommend about Japanese actors and actresses? Something loaded with studio shots and stills, with text ideally in English, though Japanese would also work? I've searched around a bit to no avail. I'll be going to Japan this fall, if that makes my search easier.

[Michael Kerpan]

I don't know what's available in Japanese -- but there is essentially nothing available in English.

I get some information by running Japanese websites through Jim Breen's Japanese English translation page.....

Note: Catherine Russell did have an article in CineAction (Feb 2003) on Hara, Takamine and Haruko Sugimura.

[jguitar]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be haunting book stores in Kyoto and Osaka in September, so if I turn up anything interesting I'll let you know.

[Michael Kerpan]

Michael Guillen (on his blog) has a nice summary of Phillip Lopate's recent, very interesting remarks about Naruse:

I wish Lopate's sensible thoughts had more impact on the "conventional wisdom" about Naruse.

[godardslave]

from above link...

He was asked if he knew if Criterion was going to be putting out any of the Naruse movies on dvd? Lopate responded that he had been urging them to. "I've done a lot of work for Criterion over the last few years. And I know that it's in negotiation. I would love to see a box set of Naruse." He announced that he would be doing the commentary for Sound of the Mountain, but through another company. Criterion is very aware of Naruse, however, and negotiating for the box set.

sounds promising.

[artfilmfan]

Week 8:

Scattered Clouds: Sad and achingly beautiful, with a very good performance by the beautiful Yoko Tsukasa. This is my favorite among Naruse's color films.

Final Thought on the Mikio Naruse Retrospective in DC:

As the Mikio Naruse retrospective in DC came to its conclusion, certain sadness came over me. I lingered in the theater a little longer than usual, trying to observe the people as they headed for the exit. I've seen many of the faces in the crowd, week after week, during the last eight weeks. Today, their faces look sadder than usual, their walks to the exit are slower than usual, and they are a little less chatty than usual. And then I wondered, as I often wonder, whether these fellow movie goers were feeling the same way as I was. They must be. I told myself.

I doubt very much if I will ever again see so many films by a director that deal with the plights of women as poignantly as Naruse's films. I was touched by the portrayals of their strength, their endurance to hardships and their forgiving hearts.

At least fifteen of Naruse's films are absolutely wonderful. And at least three of them are masterpieces. Listed below are my favorites (in descending level of fondness).

1. Floating Clouds (*****)^
2. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (*****)^
3. A Wanderer's Notebook (*****)
4. Sound of the Mountain (*****)^
5. A Wife's Heart (*****)^
6. Yearning (*****)
7. Mother (*****)
8. Husband and Wife (**** ½)^
9. Scattered Clouds (**** ½)
10. Repast (**** 1/2)^
11. Late Chrysanthemums (**** ½)^
12. Flowing (**** ½)
13. Daughters Wives Mothers (**** 1/2)
14. The Approach of Autumn (**** 1/2)
15. Anzukko (****1/2)

(^ seen more than once)

With these many wonderful films, Mikio Naruse has taken a place on my short list of favorite film directors. He's second on this list, coming in between Mr. Tofu Maker and Ingmar Bergman.

The folks who were in charge of this retrospective in DC did an excellent job, especially with the additional shows at the AFI Silver, allowing some of the more popular films to be seen more than once.

As we exited the theater for the last time during this retrospective, we return to our daily lives, and once again, we will continue to drift, in different directions, through our own ways, guided by the currents of life. And in the years to come, when we think back to the spring of 2006, to this Naruse retrospective, we may remember the laughter and the tear which we publicly displayed, and perhaps with a smile on our faces, we'll say to ourselves: that was a swell time.

Until our paths cross again,

Sayonara

[Michael Kerpan]

Naruse is also my solid number-two, not far behind Ozu. ;~}

Alas, I didn't get to see nearly so many films screened here in Boston. But even unsubbed broadcast copies almost always convey a great deal of content (and much pleasure). I probably consider at least 20 of his films to be masterpieces (or real close) and at least another 20 to be quite enjoyble and satisfying -- and I still have 20 more to track down (some of which are also likely masterpieces). The retrospective may be over -- but the impact of the films will be permanent (for me -- and for many others, I suspect).

Now out -- at Senses of Cinema -- my article telling you more than you probably want to know about one of Naruse's great silent films, Kimi to wakarete / Apart From You:

Also (among much other material), four pieces on the films of Hou Hsiao Hsien -- by other people. ;~}

(Pardon my bugle blowing -- but I've been waiting to see this appear for quite a while).

[Steven H]

Maybe some of you missed it, so I'll quote it here, but this was posted on March 23rd in the "BFI (British Film Institute)" thread:

I don't know whether this has been mentioned before - new to the forum. The BFI had three Mikio Naruse films put through the BBFC late last year for certification - Floating Clouds, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs and Late Chrysanthemums. I caontacted the BFI and they confirmed they were on the agenda. The last email I got from them was on 23rd Feb 2006...

They are currently due to be released in Feb 2007, following on from a theatrical release of the films in late 2006 - though our schedule is always subject to change. Please keep your eye on the national press and our website for more details.

When one considers the Naruse set to be released by MoC later this summer, it's great news I think.

their italics, my bold.

[Michael Kerpan]

I bet that Criterion releases at least two of those same films (as in the BFI set) in the US. Maybe all three.

I fear that it is unlikely that more than 6 of Naruse's films will appear with English subs anytime soon. Even in Japan, only 13 films have come out on DVD. There doesn't seem to be any sign that Toho will release more films on DVD -- or that Shochiku is going to release any.

Maybe if the MOC set sells in large quantities, more releases will follow.

Lots of the old Toho stuff looks surprisingly good -- it makes me sad to think that such unheralded treasures as "Song Lantern" and "Traveling Actors" and "approach of Autumn" and "As aWoman, As a Wife" will never get a DVD release -- but I just can't see it happening.

[kieslowski_67]

Just want to post a general comment on these Japanese Naruse box sets. The transfer is generally wonderful, much superior to the Spanish Naruse box set.

After revisitng a dozen or so Naruse films recently on DVD, I have to say that "when a woman ascends the stairs" has quickly become my favorite Naruse, followed by "scattered clouds". "Floating clouds" is still great, but it plays like a high watermark melodrama. Hideko Takamine really shines in Naruse films (as she does in Keisuke Kinoshita features like "24 eyes" and "Carmen comes home"). What a great character study she did in "when a woman ascends the stairs"! Naruse has such a deep (and mostly sympathetic) understanding on his female characters that I cannot think of another auteur who has created so many unforgettable and totally remarkable female characters (not Fassbinder, not Bergman, not Mizoguchi, nor Ozu).

And who is this actress Yôko Tsukasa? She is absolutely wonderful in "scattered clouds". The film hit me strongly and it reminds of David Lean's masterwork "brief encounter".

"Ginza gesho" (1951), "Meshi" (1951), "mother" (1952), "sound of mountains" (1954), "Musume tsuma haha" (1960) are all wonderful films that feature remarkable performances from Mizoguchi regular Tanaka and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara. One thing that I did find amuzing is that Naruse repeatedly asked Tatsuya Nakadai, a dashingly handsome Japanese leading man (also a more versatile actor than Mifune), to repeatedly fall in love with his much senior leading ladies on the screen. And to make the poor lad's life more miserable, he had to be rejected again and again by them.

Where does Kinuyo Tanaka come from? I thought, to you, everything is Setsuko Hara

Setsuko Hara is sort of a first among equals with me. If forced to pick only one favorite -- she might be the one I'd name. But why pick just one?

Tanaka and Hara are the two most respected Japanese actresses of all time (at least in Japan). These two did carry on a fierce competition in the 50s, much like Sayuri Yoshinaga and Keiko Matsuzaka dueling it out in the 80s. I did remember that the Japanese film institute made a poll in the mid 80s on the most popular Japanese actors/actresses of all time, and Tanaka and Hara ended up being #1 and #2.

I don't think any film industry has ever had the (almost) over-abundance of exceptional female talent that Japan had in the 50s and 60s -- though 30s Japan was almost as good. There must be more than 25 actresses of this era that I find extraordinary.

I am not sure of the number 25. However, it is indeed astonishing to think that the Japanese film industry had so much exceptionally talented actresses working in the 50 and 60s. It's kind of unfair to think that all the Western audience know about Asian actresses nowadays are Ziyi Zhang, who really has little talent to begin with besides having a beautiful face and figure.

[Michael Kerpan]

Just want to post a general comment on these Japanese Naruse box sets. The transfer is generally wonderful, much superior to the Spanish Naruse box set.

I haven't seen the Spanish DVDs -- but the overall quality of the Toho sets is quite good. And the Daiei-Kadokawa DVDs were pretty decent.

Naruse has such a deep (and mostly sympathetic) understanding on his female characters that I cannot think of another auteur who has created so many unforgettable and totally remarkable female characters (not Fassbinder, not Bergman, not Mizoguchi, nor Ozu).

I agree. I hope Catherine Russell's (now scheduled for next year) book will have interesting things to say on this topic.

And who is this actress Yôko Tsukasa? She is absolutely wonderful in "scattered clouds".

Tsukasa has a small (but important) role in Naruse's "Summer Clouds" and was Hara's daughter in "Late Autumn". She's in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and Ozu's "End of Summer". She has important roles in Naruse's "A Woman's Status" (the least thrilling of the sprawling extended family films) and "Hit and Run" (melodramatic -- but still great 'scope b&w film).

"Ginza gesho" (1951), "Meshi" (1951), "mother" (1952), "sound of mountains" (1954), "Musume tsuma haha" (1960) are all wonderful films that feature remarkable performances from Mizoguchi regular Tanaka and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara. One thing that I did find amuzing is that Naruse repeatedly asked Tatsuya Nakadai, a dashingly handsome Japanese leading man (also a more versatile actor than Mifune), to repeatedly fall in love with his much senior leading ladies on the screen. And to make the poor lad's life more miserable, he had to be rejected again and again by them.

Yes -- poor Nakadai. ;~}

No one got consistently better performances from his actresses than Naruse -- and the actors didn't do so bad either (So Yamamura and Ken Uehara both gave their best performances for Naruse).

[kieslowski_67]

No one got consistently better performances from his actresses than Naruse -- and the actors didn't do so bad either (So Yamamura and Ken Uehara both gave their best performances for Naruse).

Yamamura and Uehara are great in Naruse features. However, they are not name actors today like the legendary Tanaka, Hara, Takamine, Machiko Kyô.

Also forgot to mention that Naruse just officially became my second favorite Japanese director of all time, only behind Ozu. Mizoguchi is a still a solid 3rd, while poor Kurosawa keeps sliding down (but still well above Suzuki whose works I just don't get after repeated viewing).

I haven't seen the Spanish DVDs -- but the overall quality of the Toho sets is quite good. And the Daiei-Kadokawa DVDs were pretty decent.

I own both and did a comparision this weekend. The Toho sets feature much superior transfers to those of the Spanish Naruse box (which is awful, especially that of "floating clouds").

[kinjitsu]

I hope Catherine Russell's (now scheduled for next year) book will have interesting things to say on this topic.

Certainly something to look forward to along with projected DVDs: Forthcoming from Duke University Press, 2007

The Cinema of Naruse Mikio: Women and Japanese Modernity

Mikio Naruse is one of the most critically neglected directors of the "classical" period of Japanese cinema. Active from 1930 to 1967, Naruse made 89 feature-length films, only a handful of which have been distributed outside Japan. Naruse's films have been ignored for a number of reasons. Chief among them is his failure to fit into the auteurist mould through which Japanese cinema became known outside Japan. The films display a great deal of variety, both of style and narrative, and they lack the stylized aesthetics of more well-known Japanese directors such as Ozu, Kurosawa and Mizoguchi. The one constant in his films is the depiction of strong woman characters, whose trials and tribulations are taken on by some of the most prominent actresses of the period.

If modernism has dominated Western interest in Japanese cinema, Naruse's films demand a critical method grounded in melodrama. His particular use of film language is governed by the dynamics of desire, economics and domestic space; and his narratives display a pathos that is consistently expressive of the gender politics of Japanese society. In the everyday domestic settings of the films, the tensions of Japanese society are laid bare. I am particularly interested in the demands placed on women and the family in the context of the tensions between "tradition" and Westernization that informed Japan during this period. The pathos of women's plight in Japanese society is rarely dramatized as powerfully as it is in Naruse's cinema. --Catherine Russell

[Michael Kerpan]

I am not sure of the number 25. However, it is indeed astonishing to think that the Japanese film industry had so much exceptionally talented actresses working in the 50 and 60s. It's kind of unfair to think that all the Western audience know about Asian actresses are Ziyi Zhang, who really has little talent to begin with besides having a beautiful face and figure.

Zhang Ziyi is so incredibly charming in "Princess Raccoon I refuse to hear a word against her. ;~}

Lets see, can I fill this list?

25 wonderful Japanese actresses of the 50s and 60s:

Setsuko Hara
Kinuyo Tanaka
Hideko Takamine
Isuzu Yamada
Haruko Sugimura
Kyoko Kagawa
Machiko Kyo
Ayako Wakao
Michiyo Kogure
Yoshiko Kuga
Ineko Arima
Shima Iwashita
Fujiko Yamamoto
Mariko Okada
Miyuki Kuwano
Keiko Kishi
Chieko Nakakita
Chikage Awashima
Yoko Sugi
Keiko Awaji
Akemi Negishi
Fujiko Yamamoto
Reiko Dan
Sachiko Hidari
Chieko Baisho
Jitsuko Yoshimura
Noriko Sengoku
Yôko Minamida
Michiyo Aratama
Kuniko Miyake
Mieko Takamine
Mitsuko Miura
Nobuko Otowa

Old timers division --

Kumeko Urabe
Choko Iida
Chieko Higashiyama
Chikako Hosokawa
Yuko Mochizuki
Sadako Sawamura
Chieko Naniwa
Mitsuko Yoshikawa
Yoshiko Tsubochi
Sanae Takasugi
Sumiko Kurishima (one last post-retirement swan song)
Fumiko Honma

Very famous -- but not seen yet

Hibari Misora

I know I'm leaving people out -- but I think this is a start...

;~}

[kieslowski_67]

Wonderful list. =D> I will only add Sayuri Yoshinaga's name to that list. Although she did not reach her peak until the 80s, she started well in the 60s. And considering the fact that she is regarded as one of the 3-4 best Japanese actresses of all time nowadays, I cannot see her name not on this list.

[Michael Kerpan]

I considered including Sayuri Yoshinaga (and Mitsuko Baisho etc.), but thought they started too late in the 60s to be included.

Lots of the actresses on my list made into at least one Naruse film (most of those who started in the 50s or before).

[kieslowski_67]

Mitsuko Baisho was wonderful in Kumashiro's "love letter" (1985) and lots of Imamura features. Her sister, Chieko Baisho, used to be my favorite Japanese actress for a brief period of time (late 70s) thanks to her strong work in Yamada films. Sayuri Yoshinaga is gaining lots of respect from me recently. She has had a wonderful and long lasting career that rivals that of Tanaka's. That's really saying something about the talent of this exceptional actress.

BTW, do you know anything about the rumor that the quick rising of Nakadai's career in the early 60s played a key role in the breakup between Mifune and Kurosawa? We have watched lots of Nakadai films in the 70s and he remains my wife's favorite Japanese actor.

[Michael Kerpan]

My copy of the new Cahiers volume devoted to Naruse finally arrived from Alapage (along with DVDs of imamura's "Black Rain" and Kawase's "Suzaku"). The book is nice and fat, has nice (albeit mostly small) pictures, lots of analysis by Jean Narboni, plot summaries for many rare films, and production information on all of Naruse's films (including lost ones).

I am slowly moving through this. It's first sections deal with Naruse's general reception in France -- and then re-examine "Okaasan"'s reception in detail (this was the first film to show up in France, only a year after its Japanese release).

[tavernier]

My copy of the new Cahiers volume devoted to Naruse finally arrived from Alapage (along with DVDs of imamura's "Black Rain" and Kawase's "Suzaku").

Off-topic: how's the "Black Rain" DVD? (I have the long and deservedly OOP Image disc.)

[Michael Kerpan]

Black Rain DVD -- decent English subs -- decent looking transfer (on our low-tech equipment) -- no extras. Devastating movie -- by the way -- invoking the style of Ozu and Naruse to tell its harrowing story.

[tavernier]

Amazing film, with one of Takemitsu's most haunting scores....I saw it at the 89 NY Film Fest with Imamura there, speaking about his film. What a great loss his death is.

[brunosh]

I watched the French released Black Rain a few days ago, for the first time since I saw it in the cinema. Very moving film and, as you say, good subtitling and a perfectly adequate transfer.

Does Suzaku have English subs? I have been resisting it because I thought there were only French subs.

[Michael Kerpan]

Does Suzaku have English subs? I have been resisting it because I thought there were only French subs.

Only French subs, alas.

Reading French subs is a breeze, compared to reading whole books in French (he says -- as he reaches page 45 or so in Narboni's new book -- which seems quite good so far).

[artfilmfan]

Kawase's "Suzaku"

I got this one and "Black Rain" about six weeks ago but have managed to watch only this one so far. It's a nice little film. Slower than "Shara", I think. I really like the scenic mountains and rural areas. Too bad the transfer to DVD is not hi-def. But considering that the film was probably made with a low budget, this might be as best as it's going to look.

[Michael Kerpan]

The first French Naruse DVD set:

Repast, Floating Clouds, Summer Clouds -- due out on Oct 24